health care

Central American migrants, hoping to ask for asylum in the United States, are being relocated to a temporary shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. Volunteers from San Diego visit the migrants weekly to help with health care.

For Asylum-Seekers Waiting In Mexico, Volunteers Offer Medical Help

5:09pm December 22, 2018

by Alyssa Jeong Perry

Thousands of asylum-seekers in Mexico are waiting their turn to ask U.S. border officials for asylum. A volunteer group of doctors and nurses travel to Tijuana weekly to attend to their health needs.

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Selling short-term health plan is lucrative for brokers and insurers.

Health & Safety

Short-Term Health Plans Boost Profits For Brokers And Insurers

2:52pm December 21, 2018

by Julie Appleby

Trump administration efforts to undo Obama-era health insurance rules have helped increase sales of limited health plans that cost consumers less than traditional coverage.

Philadelphia demonstrators protested earlier moves by Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act last February. If the ACA is indeed axed as unconstitutional, health policy analysts say, millions of people could lose health coverage, and many aspects o

5 Ways Nixing The Affordable Care Act Could Upend U.S. Health System

5:39pm December 20, 2018

by Julie Rovner

If the decision of a judge in Texas to invalidate the federal health law holds up, expect broad effects on your health care — from insurance coverage to Medicare payments to pre-existing conditions.

In 2015, demonstrators in Washington, D.C., urged Supreme Court justices to save the Affordable Care Act from a legal challenge. The federal health law survived, but last week U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled it invalid. An appeal of his controvers

Judge Who Invalidated Obamacare Has Been A 'Go-To Judge' For Republicans, Critics Say

8:11am December 20, 2018

by Ashley Lopez

Court watchers weren't shocked when Reed O'Connor, a U.S. district judge in Texas, ruled the Affordable Care Act invalid. Critics say he usually sides with Republicans on ideological cases.

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Susie Christoff tried several drugs to cope with her painful psoriatic arthritis before finding Cosentyx worked the best. The problem was the cost.

Health & Safety

Why The U.S. Remains The Most Expensive Market For 'Biologic' Drugs In The World

1:05pm December 19, 2018

by Sarah Jane Tribble

Biologic drugs, often made with the help of living organisms, are especially lucrative because they have scant competition from biosimilars, drugs akin to generics. It's a different story in Europe.

The initial test for hepatitis C is an inexpensive blood test to check for antibodies that indicate the person's been exposed to the virus. If that antibody test is positive, a second test is done to see if the virus is circulating in the bloodstream —

Why Aren't More Users Of Opioids Or Meth Screened For Hepatitis C?

9:24am December 19, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

As the number of people who inject drugs and share needles has soared, the rate of infection with hep C has climbed, too. Yet many drug treatment patients aren't tested for the liver-damaging virus.

Former coal miner Danny Smith and his family used to ride their ATVs and go camping on this reclaimed strip mining site in Pike County, Ky. But Smith is no longer able to do such things because of his advanced black lung disease.

An Epidemic Is Killing Thousands Of Coal Miners. Regulators Could Have Stopped It

9:44pm December 18, 2018

More than 2,000 miners in Appalachia are dying from an advanced stage of black lung. NPR and Frontline have found the government had multiple warnings and opportunities to protect them, but didn't.

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Sarah Witter fractured two bones in her lower left leg while skiing in Vermont last February. She had two operations to repair the damage. The second surgery was needed to replace a metal plate that broke after it was implanted.

Health & Safety

Bill Of The Month: $43,208 For Repeat Surgery To Replace Broken Medical Device

6:42pm December 18, 2018

by Jordan Rau

If implanted medical devices fail, patients and their insurers usually have to pay for repairs. That financial responsibility falls to them even when the problems were solely with the devices.

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Caretaker Ashlee Williams helps her husband, Former Staff Sgt. J.D. Williams, begin the process of putting on a prosthetic leg.

VA Still Arbitrarily Cutting Caregivers From Program, Even As It Aims To Expand

11:20am December 18, 2018

by Quil Lawrence

Congress told the VA to expand its caregiver program to include pre-Sept. 11 vets, but the VA has failed to meet a deadline in the law.

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The "Medicaid Drug Decisions Transparency Act" would require pharmaceutical companies to disclose their payments to pharmacists and others who serve on state Medicaid drug boards — the advisory groups that decide which drugs Medicaid will and won't cove

Sen. Cory Booker Calls For More Transparency In Medicaid Drug Decisions

8:47pm December 17, 2018

by Liz Whyte

Booker is introducing a bill this week in response to an investigation by the Center for Public Interest and NPR. He calls drug firms' infiltration into Medicaid's decision process "nefarious."