The Trump administration rolled out a list of actions in its budget proposal to attack drug prices, but most of the measures dance around the edges of the problem.
Economists tracking federal mortality data say the opioid crisis is undercutting the productivity of people in their prime working years — 30s and 40s.
The report released by Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill says the cozy relationship between pain advocacy groups and pharmaceutical companies may have played a key role in the opioid crisis.
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with journalist Sam Quinones about Purdue Pharma's announcement that it would stop promoting its blockbuster opioid painkiller OxyContin to doctors. Purdue's move comes as it faces dozens of lawsuits.
A Maryland hospital chain is testing new gowns that offer more coverage for patients' backsides. It's not the first time designers have tried to change the despised garment, without much success.
The new budget will likely lower the cost of expensive prescription drugs for Medicare patients. Elisabeth Rosenthal of Kaiser Health News talks with NPR's Scott Simon.
Flu drugs recommended for vulnerable people, including young children and the elderly, are getting hard to find in some parts of the country, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Opioids are a public health emergency, the president says, but he hasn't acted on the White House opioid commission's recommendations to expand treatment.
The Senate agreement is now before the House, which needs to act by midnight to avert a shutdown. The deal appears to include almost every health priority Democrats have been pushing in recent months.