health care

Join us for a webcast of the poll results on discrimination against Native Amercians hosted by The Forum at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Health & Safety

Forum: Examining Discrimination Against Native Americans

1:14pm December 12, 2017

by Joe Neel

How do Native Americans experience discrimination in daily life? Experts in Native American issues discuss the results of an NPR poll showing widespread discrimination across the nation.

A week after Hurricane Harvey swept through southern Texas in August, the streets of Katy, Texas, were still flooded. People in Puerto Rico and the Southeastern U.S. who were affected by the hurricanes are among those who may have extra time to enroll for

Deadline Is Friday For Most ACA Insurance Sign-Ups, With Important Exceptions

1:10pm December 12, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

Some people looking for 2018 insurance under the Affordable Care Act may have a little longer to sign up — for example, in states and U.S. territories hit by this year's hurricanes.

DOJ Stepping Up Prosecutions Of Medical Providers Who Abuse Prescribing Authority

4:38pm December 11, 2017

It's believed that 80 percent of people addicted to heroin today started with prescription painkillers. The over-prescription of opioids in the U.S. has been well documented. NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about how the Department of Justice is ramping up prosecutions of medical providers who abuse their prescribing authority when it comes to opioids.

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Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, walks through the Capitol with colleagues in early December.

Doubts Rise About Sen. Collins' Strategy To Shore Up Insurance Market

7:01am December 09, 2017

by Julie Rovner

Even if the Republican from Maine can get her party to go along, her suggestions to bolster the individual insurance market may be too little, too late.

Wanda and Shalon were so close, "they were like the Gilmore Girls," one friend said.

Black Mothers Keep Dying After Giving Birth. Shalon Irving's Story Explains Why

7:51pm December 07, 2017

Black women are three times more likely to die from complications of childbirth than white women in the U.S. Racism, and the stress it causes, can play a leading role in that disparity.

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Surgeons at the University of Michigan are prescribing fewer opioids to reduce the risk of addiction.

Health & Safety

Surgeons Try Prescribing Fewer Opioids To Lower Addiction Risk

1:27pm December 06, 2017

by Shefali Luthra

Based on research conducted at the University of Michigan, surgeons developed a simple strategy to reduce misuse and abuse of painkillers after surgery: give patients fewer pills.

Eric Conn, who was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison after fleeing justice this summer, has been arrested in Honduras. He's seen here in a photo released by the Public Ministry of Honduras.

U.S. Fugitive Eric Conn, Guilty In $550 Million Fraud, Is Captured In Honduras

11:17am December 05, 2017

by Bill Chappell

Eric Conn had been under house arrest when he cut off his ankle monitor and left it in a backpack along I-75 in Kentucky. He was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison.

Margarita Mills (left), an insurance agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, helped Daniela Morales shop for an Affordable Care Act health plan at the Mall of the Americas in Miami last month.

ACA Navigators Are Busy With Sign-Ups, Despite Federal Cuts To Outreach

5:00am December 05, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

With enrollment funding tight, health plan navigators and assisters are getting creative about getting the word out and signing people up for Affordable Care Act plans.

What The CVS And Aetna Merger Has To Do With Amazon

6:40pm December 04, 2017

by Alina Selyukh

The $69 billion merger of the drug store chain CVS with insurer Aetna is about several things. Depending on whom you ask, it's about transforming the pharmacy store experience, getting a stronger foothold in lucrative sales of specialty prescription drugs — or about preparing for a future threat from Amazon.

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CVS Health has struck a deal to buy Aetna, the insurance giant. The combined companies would have more clout with drugmakers and would aim to bring more health care to consumers in retail clinics.

Health & Safety

With Aetna Deal, CVS Looks To Turn Stores Into Health Care Hubs

12:48pm December 04, 2017

by Alison Kodjak

By combining a health insurer with a drugstore chain, CVS is looking to provide more care from its network of stores. The deal would also give the merged companies more clout with drugmakers.