health care

Keishla Mojica, 23, lives in Cuagas, Puerto Rico. She was infected with Zika virus while pregnant and expects to give birth in early January.

In Puerto Rico, A Woman Infected With Zika Prays For A Healthy Baby

4:21pm December 30, 2016

by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez

Puerto Rico has experienced many more cases of Zika virus than the continental U.S. But health and educational services are scarce on the islands for children born with disabilities.

Diseased brain tissue from an Alzheimer's patient showing amyloid plaques (in blue) located in the gray matter of the brain.

Where Does Alzheimer's Treatment Go From Here?

12:35pm December 29, 2016

by Bret Stetka

The failure of an experimental drug that targets clumps of protein inside the brains of Alzheimer's patients called into question one of the leading theories about the cause of the dementia.

For Many, Fewer Obamacare Choices Doesn't Mean Higher Prices

9:32am December 28, 2016

by Philip Galewitz

One in five people getting health care through the Affordable Care Act no longer have a choice of insurers. But those markets don't have significantly higher prices than areas with competition.

Charlie Oen revisits a garage where he abused drugs. Oen was addicted to heroin at the age of 16. Now 25, he is sober and working as a peer counselor in Lima, Ohio.

A Peer Recovery Coach Walks The Front Lines Of America's Opioid Epidemic

4:59pm December 27, 2016

Charlie Oen was addicted to heroin as a teenager. At 25, he's now clean and a peer counselor in Lima, Ohio, where he tries to help people who started using drugs before he was born.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence announces in 2015 that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved the state's waiver request to expand Medicaid coverage.

The Future Of Medicaid May Be Found In Indiana, Where The Poor Pay

1:27pm December 27, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Seema Verma, the architect of Indiana's Medicaid overhaul, is slated to run the federal agency overseeing the health care program for the poor. She instated mandatory payments from recipients.

Queue Listen Now

Adox and Michaeli with their son, Orion, in the winter of 2015.

A Dying Man's Wish To Donate His Organs Gets Complicated

6:36am December 26, 2016

by Karen Shakerdge

Dying in America doesn't always go the way we plan. One terminally ill man's hope to be disconnected from his respirator and donate his organs was almost thwarted, despite his best laid plans.

Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis gets his blood pressure checked in a mobile medical unit parked at the state Capitol.

White House Sharpens Its Case For Obamacare, As Republicans Sharpen Knives

8:53am December 24, 2016

by Scott Horsley

President Obama and his advisers are trying to document the accomplishments of his signature health care law, mindful that Republicans are dead set on repeal.

From left: Emmanuel Kwame lost his sight to river blindness as a young man in Ghana; a bed net keeps mosquitoes away from a mother and child in a Somalian hospital; extracting a guinea worm from an infected person.

Wins And Losses In Global Health In 2016

11:59am December 23, 2016

by Jason Beaubien

The editor of the New England Journal Of Medicine is a big Red Sox fan. And so he framed the year in global health in baseball terms.

House Speaker Paul Ryan signed legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Jan. 7, 2016. President Obama vetoed the bill, but the new administration could open the door for change.

If Republicans Repeal Health Law, Paying For A Replacement Could Be Tough

11:54am December 23, 2016

by Julie Rovner

Republicans who have pledged to repeal Obamacare also said they would halt the taxes Democrats used to pay for it. Without the money, Republicans won't have nearly as much to spend on an alternative.

Ruth McCafferty, who works in Kalispell, Mont., credits the training she got through the state's Medicaid expansion with helping her get a good job.

Montana May Be Model For Future Medicaid Work Requirement

10:06am December 23, 2016

by Eric Whitney

The Obama administration has said no to many states' requests to take more control over Medicaid. But the incoming Congress and new White House team may be more amenable.