health care

Leah Steimel (center) says she would consider buying insurance through a Medicaid-style plan that the New Mexico Legislature is considering. Her family includes (from left) her husband, Wellington Guzman; their daughter, Amelia; and sons Daniel and Jonath

New Mexico Eyes A 'Medicaid Buy-In' Plan To Insure More Residents

5:50pm February 25, 2019

by Michelle Andrews

While some officials urge expansion of the Medicare system, several states are mulling a different way to ensure residents have affordable coverage: help them buy into a Medicaid-like plan.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., promotes his Medicare-for-all proposal at the 2017 Convention of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee in San Francisco, Calif., an issue that is dominating the early debate in the 2020 presiden

Beyond 'Bumper Sticker' Slogans: 2020 Democrats Debate Details Of Medicare-For-All

5:00am February 25, 2019

by Danielle Kurtzleben

Presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar are giving details of their health care proposals, the first big issue where 2020 hopefuls are differentiating themselves.

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Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen On Trump Administration Title X Changes

11:43am February 24, 2019

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Leana Wen, a physician and the president of Planned Parenthood, about how a rule change from the Trump administration on Title X will affect her organization.

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Big Pharma Heads To Capitol Hill

8:16am February 23, 2019

The heads of the largest pharmaceutical companies will defend their pricing before the Senate next week. STAT reporter Nicholas Florko tells NPR's Scott Simon that this will be a televised crucible.

Democrats Debate Health Care Policy

7:02am February 22, 2019

by Danielle Kurtzleben

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders entered the 2020 presidential race this week as Democratic candidates engaged in their first big policy fight — centered around health care.

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CVS plans to transform some of its stores into "health hubs," retail locations revamped to include more health care services and products. One of the first is in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

Health & Safety

CVS Looks To Make Its Drugstores A Destination For Health Care

4:45pm February 21, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

With almost 10,000 stores across the country, CVS says it is already where consumers are. The company is transforming some of its stores and their retail clinics into hubs for a wider range of care.

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For employers, choosing a health care plan for staff can be tricky and they often rely on independent insurance brokers. But these brokers are rewarded for making big sales for insurance companies.

Health & Safety

Insurers Hand Out Cash and Gifts To Sway Brokers Who Sell Employer Health Plans

1:49pm February 20, 2019

by Marshall Allen

Independent brokers help employers choose health benefits for their staff but are paid by the health insurance industry, creating financial incentives to sell more without regard to cost.

Health & Safety

How One Woman Is Working To Educate Parents On Vaccinations

7:07pm February 19, 2019

by Alexandra Olgin

Public health advocates have struggled to change the minds of these so called anti-vaxxers. But one South Carolina woman has a different approach: reaching parents before they even become parents.

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Dr. Michelle Salvaggio, medical director of the Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, points to drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS. Medical advancements since the epidemic surfaced in the 1980s have

White House Plan To Stop HIV Faces A Tough Road In Oklahoma

11:51am February 19, 2019

by Jackie Fortier

Trump's plan includes a focus on fighting HIV in the rural Midwest and South. But there are doubts in Oklahoma, where the state's uninsured rate and stigmatization of HIV are high.

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Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces changes to the state Medicaid program called Arkansas Works, including the addition of a work requirement for certain beneficiaries, on March 6, 2017.

In Arkansas, Thousands Of People Have Lost Medicaid Coverage Over New Work Rule

6:16pm February 18, 2019

by Jacqueline Froelich

The state now requires many of its Medicaid beneficiaries to work, go to school or volunteer in order to keep their health insurance. But more than 18,000 have come off the rolls.

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