health care

Oncologists Break Old Rules With Precision Cancer Treatments

6:59pm May 13, 2016

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to physician and author Siddhartha Mukherjee about how the fight against cancer has changed so dramatically in this era of precisely targeted treatments.

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Frontier Airlines says that there are places to pump breast milk at all the airports where it flies.

Pilots And ACLU Sue Airline Over Breast Milk Pumping At Work

6:14pm May 13, 2016

by Tara Haelle

Four female pilots says that Frontier Airlines failed to provide legally required accommodations so they could pump breast milk and do their jobs. The ACLU filed a complaint on their behalf.

Fact-Checking Hillary Clinton's Medicare Buy-In Proposal

2:00pm May 13, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

The Democratic presidential candidate this week floated the idea of allowing people over 50 to "buy in" to Medicare. NPR looks at how that would affect health care costs for everyone else.

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A doctor listens to a child's breathing.

Health & Safety

More Low-Income Kids Now Have Health Coverage

11:43am May 13, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

The expansion of Medicaid and continued enrollment in the Children's Health Insurance Program have boosted the proportion of eligible kids with health coverage to 91 percent, a study finds.

"I'm afraid there's a growing sense that the path to health is through testing," says Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a Dartmouth Institute internist who has written books on the pitfalls of overdiagnosis. Encouraging the worried well to order their own blood tests

DIY Blood Tests? There's A Downside To Ordering Your Own

9:16pm May 12, 2016

by Jon Brooks

It's legal to order diagnostic blood tests without consulting a doctor in many states. But critics say healthy patients can go down a rabbit hole of invasive assays and unnecessary treatments.

Researchers Offer Jet Lag Advice In Return For Data About Your Sleep

1:35pm May 12, 2016

by Alan Yu

Users of an app developed by the University of Michigan to help with jet lag entered information on their time zone and sleep patterns that helped academics with their work. But is the approach valid?

A still from a Kaiser Health News video on selling insurance across state lines.

Health & Safety

Selling Health Insurance Across State Lines Sounds Good, But Is It?

12:55pm May 12, 2016

by Julie Rovner

Kaiser Health News' Julie Rovner explores why increasing competition in health insurance by allowing sales of policies across state lines might not be such a hot idea after all.

Courtney Griffin died at age 20 from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. She was turned away from a treatment center less than two months earlier when her insurance was declined.

Politics In Real Life: Dying From Overdose While Waiting For Treatment

9:46am May 12, 2016

by Tamara Keith

Heroin and prescription opioids are killing more than 100 people a day. It's an issue candidates up and down the ballot are discussing.

Presidential Candidates Confront Obstacles To Opioid Addiction Treatment

4:28pm May 11, 2016

by Tamara Keith

Presidential candidates have been confronted by voters over the crisis of opioid abuse and heroin addiction. One major problem is accessing treatment when someone who needs it is ready to receive it.

Early treatment for autism is key to making the most of the intervention, researchers say.

State Insurance Mandates For Autism Treatment Fall Short

1:26pm May 11, 2016

by Shefali Luthra

Most states require insurers to pay for autism treatments. But that hasn't done much to get therapy to children who need it, a study finds. It's important to get treatment as early as possible.