health care

What Are The Two Health Bills Sen. Susan Collins Wants Congress To Act On?

9:45pm December 14, 2017

by Patty Wight

Maine Sen. Susan Collins voted for the Senate GOP tax plan despite its repeal of the individual mandate because GOP leadership promised her a vote on her reinsurance bill, and a vote on legislation to restore some payments to insurers. But it's doubtful getting those provisions enacted would mitigate the damage to exchanges from the mandate repeal.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, joined protesters outside the U.S. Capitol in late November, as Republicans in the Senate worked to pass a sweeping tax bill.

Health & Safety

Heading North: American Doctors Report Back From Canada

9:50am December 14, 2017

by Shefali Luthra

Advocates for single-payer health care in the U.S. often look to Canada as a model. But some American doctors practicing there wonder whether the U.S. is ready to call health care a right.

Consumers Hunting For Health Insurance Find High Prices — And Some Great Deals

9:30am December 14, 2017

Shop around. That's the advice of health insurance navigators for people seeking health policies on the Affordable Care Act's state and federal exchanges. Premiums have climbed but so have subsidies.

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Health & Safety

Health Care Costs Push A Staggering Number Of People Into Extreme Poverty

6:25am December 14, 2017

by Nurith Aizenman

And half the world's population doesn't even have access to essential health services, according to a report from the World Bank and the World Health Organization.

Health & Safety

CVS Health CEO On Aetna Deal

5:25am December 14, 2017

Steve Inskeep talks with Larry Merlo, CEO of CVS Health, about his company's acquisition of the giant insurer Aetna.

Isabel Diaz Tinoco and Jose Luis Tinoco had some questions for the Miami insurance agent who helped guide them in signing up for a HealthCare.gov policy at the Mall of the Americas in November.

HealthCare.gov Enrollment Ends Friday. Sign-ups Likely to Trail Last Year's

4:57pm December 13, 2017

by Alison Kodjak

A shorter enrollment period and big cuts in the federal budget for outreach are taking a toll, say those helping with health insurance sign-ups. Deadlines for most state exchanges are a little later.

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News

North Carolina Governor Seeks Obamacare Deadline Extension

4:55pm December 12, 2017

by Associated Press

North Carolina's governor is asking the federal government to extend the enrollment period for Affordable Care Act insurance.

Legislators Want Ex-Mental Health Executives To Repay Severance

2:55pm December 12, 2017

by Gary D. Robertson, Associated Press

North Carolina lawmakers want state health officials to take nearly $4 million in severance away from the fired CEO of a regional mental health agency and three other top administrators who resigne

Anna Whiting Sorrell, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in northwest Montana, had hernia surgery a couple of years ago. The Indian Health Service picked up a part of the tab for the surgery but denied coverage for follow-up appointme

Health & Safety

Native Americans Feel Invisible In U.S. Health Care System

2:44pm December 12, 2017

by Eric Whitney

About a quarter of Native Americans report experiencing discrimination in health care, according to a poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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Nine million U.S. children get their health coverage through CHIP, a program jointly funded by federal and state governments. Several states say they can't fund the program alone past January.

Parents Worry Congress Won't Fund The Children's Health Insurance Program

1:59pm December 12, 2017

by Alison Kodjak

The federal funding of the program lapsed in September. States have been burning through leftover funds, or borrowing from other accounts, as they wait for Congress to act before the end of January.

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