HEALTH

As part of a national class action lawsuit, drug companies and pharmacies have to pay $1 billion to Massachusetts over 18 years. Sixty percent of the money goes to the state to distribute, and 40 percent to cities and towns directly.

A State House News Service reporter digs into that supplemental budget request and explains what Mass. Gov. Maura Healey is seeking.

UMass Amherst researchers found that not only did low income patients have more insurance claims turned down, but they were less likely to contest those claims or have them reversed.

Glickman School in the city's Sixteen Acres neighborhood is one of about a dozen buildings which will, or have received new ventilation system upgrades in recent years.

As sports betting expands across the U.S., states are on their own to make the rules. A growing movement of U.S. health leaders and legislators want to strengthen and standardize the way gambling is regulated. But they are facing opposition from the betting industry.

In 2005, the U.K. passed a law that liberalized the gambling industry, which had previously been merely tolerated. Public health leaders across the Atlantic say the U.S. should take note of the challenges the U.K. has faced since gambling spread to almost every city.

When it comes to gambling, Norway is one of the most regulated countries in the world. What can Massachusetts and the U.S. learn from its public health approach to betting addiction?

Norway's highly controlled approach to gambling includes reaching out to players who appear headed for trouble. At Norse Rikstoto, the government-run company that oversees horse racing, staff make personal calls to people who show an uptick in time or money spent on betting.

The proposed biomass plant would burn wood to create energy, something local advocates say will make Springfield's already poor air quality even worse.

Easthampton, Mass. medical marijuana dispensary INSA recently released a study that found mislabeled and potent hemp products are widely available to all.