health care

Health & Safety

Blue Cross Blue Shield: Tax Cut Will Help Charities, Soften Rate Hikes

5:08pm February 22, 2018

by Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press

North Carolina's largest health insurer said Thursday its windfall from the new federal tax cut will hold down rate increases in the future, but this year it will use it to give charities $40 milli

A new study offers a systematic look at what midwives can and can't do in different states, offering evidence that empowering them could boost maternal and infant health.

Does A Larger Role For Midwives Mean Better Care?

3:46pm February 22, 2018

by Nina Martin

States that give midwives a greater role in patient care achieve better results on key measures of maternal and neonatal health, according to a new study.

A measles vaccine, such as the one shown here from a Los Angeles clinic, is highly effective in preventing the spread of measles.

Europe Saw 4-Fold Increase In Measles Cases In 2017

9:08pm February 20, 2018

by Merrit Kennedy

In 2017, the disease affected 21,315 people, compared to 5,273 in 2016. Last year, 35 people died in Europe because of measles. The World Health Organizations says unvaccinated people are a factor.

Francisco Hidalgo prepares to receive a trigger point injection from Dr. Alexis LaPietra (right) at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., while Dr. Tyler Manis observes. An alternative to opioids, the trigger point injection involves d

ER Reduces Opioid Use By More Than Half With Dry Needles, Laughing Gas

7:03pm February 20, 2018

by Hansi Lo Wang

Opioid prescriptions in one of the busiest emergency rooms in the U.S dropped 58 percent in the first year of an unusual program to help stem the opioid epidemic. More hospitals are copying the model.

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Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks to the House Ways and Means Committee last week in Washington about the FY19 budget.

Trump Administration Wants To Let Insurers Offer Plans With Fewer Benefits

1:50pm February 20, 2018

by Alison Kodjak

The Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a rule that would expand short-term policies that don't have to meet the Affordable Care Act's benefit requirements.

Royal Australian Navy Lt. Elizabeth Livingstone and Singapore Army Maj. Paul Zhao perform cataract surgery aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy during a visit to Quy Nhon, Vietnam in 2010.

Health & Safety

Anthem Says Eye Surgeons Should Monitor Cataract Anesthesia Themselves

12:03pm February 20, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

The insurer says it is not usually medically necessary to have an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist on hand most of the time during the common surgery.

Liz Moreno thought she was done paying for her back surgery in 2015. But a $17,850 bill for a urine test showed up nine months later. Her father, Paul Davis, a retired doctor from Ohio, settled with the lab company for $5,000 in order to protect his daugh

Health & Safety

How A Urine Test After Back Surgery Triggered A $17,850 Bill

3:42pm February 16, 2018

by Fred Schulte

A few months after surgery for a painful spinal disk, a woman's doctor asked her for a sample of urine during a follow-up visit. The routine request turned into a financial nightmare.

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Urine testing to diagnose illness or to detect the presence of drugs is generally routine. But a woman who gave her doctor a urine sample months after back surgery got socked with a huge bill.

Health & Safety

An Out-Of-Network Lab, An Elaborate Urine Test And Then A Surprise Bill

10:41am February 16, 2018

by Fred Schulte

Elizabeth Moreno got hit with a $17,850 bill from a Texas lab after leaving a urine sample at her doctor's office. The lab had tested the sample for a wide range of legal and illicit drugs.

Send us your medical bills and share your story with us.

Health & Safety

Share Your Medical Bill With Us

4:50am February 16, 2018

by Scott Hensley

Journalists from Kaiser Health News and NPR will be looking at surprising medical bills and figuring out what they can tell us about the health care system. You can share your story here.

Several Planned Parenthood chapters and other groups involved in prevention of teen pregnancy are suing the administration for halting funding for their programs.

Trump Administration Sued Over Ending Funding Of Teen Pregnancy Programs

6:26pm February 15, 2018

by Alison Kodjak

Several Planned Parenthood chapters and other groups are suing the federal government because they say their grants for sex education and pregnancy prevention were canceled without explanation.

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