health care

Health & Safety

Bill Of The Month: Extraction Of Doll Shoes In Girl's Nose Cost $2,659

5:38pm November 26, 2019

A 4-year-old girl was playing with her dolls and next thing you know, she had two tiny doll shoes stuck in her nose. A trip to urgent care, then the emergency room left her parents with a giant bill.

Matthew Braun, a first-year medical student at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, Wash., says his personal history with opioids will help him care for patients.

Health & Safety

Medical Students Say Their Opioid Experiences Will Shape How They Prescribe

6:23am November 26, 2019

by Jon Hamilton

One medical student was addicted to opioids. Another relied on them to control disabling pain. Both think their experiences will help them be better doctors when it comes to prescribing opioids.

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Keith Meehan is one of an estimated 1 million Americans who get health care coverage through a health care sharing ministry. After Meehan's back surgery, Aliera and Trinity HealthShare declined to pay approximately $200,000 in medical bills, saying back p

Regulators Allege Christian-Based Health Care Provider Broke State, Federal Rules

6:14pm November 25, 2019

by Todd Bookman

Health care sharing ministries offer consumers an alternative to traditional insurance, and people are drawn to their lower premiums. But one company is accused of selling illegal insurance products.

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Department Of Veterans Affairs Thinks Telehealth Clinics May Help Vets In Rural Areas

4:15pm November 25, 2019

by Jay Price

About 5 million vets live in rural America and when it comes to health-care, there can be both literal and logistical obstacles. The Department of Veterans Affairs thinks telehealth clinics may help.

Geriatric oncologist Supriya Gupta Mohile meets with patient Jim Mulcahy at Highland Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. "If I didn't do a geriatric assessment and just looked at a patient I wouldn't have the same information," she says.

Health & Safety

A Cancer Care Approach Tailored To The Elderly May Have Better Results

11:20pm November 23, 2019

by Cheryl Platzman Weinstock

For older, often frail cancer patients, geriatric assessments can help doctors gauge the patients' physical, mental and functional capacity, and choose an appropriate treatment approach.

An infant is monitored for opioid withdrawal in a neonatal intensive care unit at the CAMC Women and Children's Hospital in Charleston, W.Va., in June. Infants exposed to opioids in utero often experience symptoms of withdrawal.

Health & Safety

In The Fight For Money For The Opioid Crisis, Will The Youngest Victims Be Left Out?

6:27pm November 22, 2019

by Blake Farmer

The opioid epidemic is intergenerational, with tens of thousands of babies born every year dependent on opioids. Advocates worry lawsuits against the drug industry might overlook these children.

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Licensed practical nurse Stephanie Dotson measures Kent Beasley's blood pressure in downtown Atlanta in September. Dotson is a member of the Mercy Care team that works to bring medical care to Atlanta residents who are homeless.

Health & Safety

They Bring Medical Care To The Homeless And Build Relationships To Save Lives

8:03pm November 21, 2019

by Sam Whitehead

"Street medicine" programs, like one in Atlanta, seek out people living in back alleys and under highways. The public health outreach improves patients' health and is cost-effective, hospitals find.

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2020 Affordable Care Act Health Plans: What's New

2:04pm November 21, 2019

by Shefali Luthra

ACA plans for 2020 are cheaper than last year — premiums lower, on average. And in some areas, people who qualify for federal subsidies could end up with no monthly payment. But read the fine print.

Sandra King Young runs Medicaid in American Samoa, a U.S. territory that faces dramatic funding cuts to islanders' health care unless Congress acts. "This is the United States' shame in the islands," she says.

Health & Safety

America's 'Shame': Medicaid Funding Slashed In U.S. Territories

5:01am November 20, 2019

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Five U.S. territories say if Congress doesn't quickly allocate more funding for their Medicaid programs, they will be forced to make brutal triage decisions that will likely cost American lives.

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A demonstrator celebrated outside the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 after the court voted to uphold key tax subsidies that are part of the Affordable Care Act. But federal taxes and other measures designed to pay for the health care the ACA provides have not

Want New Taxes To Pay For Health Care? Lessons From The Affordable Care Act

2:53pm November 19, 2019

by Julie Rovner

When passing the ACA, Democrats touted the fact that they had included many measures to pay for the bill's expanded coverage. But nearly 10 years later, Congress has eliminated many of those taxes.