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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Proposed Meningitis Outbreak Compensation Fund Boosted by $35 Million
The amount of a proposed fund for victims of a meningitis outbreak linked to the New England Compounding Pharmacy has been increased by about $35 million.
A new agreement filed Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Massachusetts calls for a fund of at least $135 million to compensate people who became ill and relatives of those who died, according to court-appointed bankruptcy trustee Paul Moore, the Associated Press reported.
The nationwide outbreak sickened more than 750 people in 20 states and more than 64 people died. It was blamed on a tainted steroid produced by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass.
An earlier settlement called for a fund of more than $100 million, including $50 million for the owners of the now-closed company.
The new agreement must be approved by a judge, the AP reported.
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More Americans Have Insurance Through Obamacare: Survey
About 10.6 million Americans got health insurance coverage between September 2013 and September 2014, and the rate of uninsured people fell from 17.7 percent to 12.4 percent, according to a survey by the Urban Institute.
It said the increase in insured people is in large part due to new health insurance exchanges and the expansion of Medicaid in a number of states. Others may have insurance from their workplace under stricter new rules about who must be covered, NBC News reported.
"The survey findings show that uninsured adults ages 18 to 64 gained coverage across all age, gender, race and ethnicity groups," the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said in a statement. The foundation helped fund the study.
Nearly seven million people have signed up for private insurance over the past year and about nine million are expected to do so this year, according to the Obama administration. So far this year, 765,000 people have signed up and about half are new enrollees, NBC News reported.