Some people struggle for years with asthma and sinus infections, unaware that they have a disease called aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease. For them, aspirin can be both cause and cure.
How coinsurance hurts: If a drug costs $200, a patient may owe 20 percent of the cost, or $40, instead of a flat copayment of $20. The higher the cost of the drug, the bigger the coinsurance bite.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers are balking at a Covered California proposal to eject providers of care that have inordinately high costs and low quality from its networks.
More than 30 percent of Floridians report having serious financial problems, compared with 26 percent of adults nationwide. Digging into those poll numbers shows large medical bills can be ruinous.
An analysis of Medicare data shows that the more money a doctor gets from pharmaceutical companies, the more likely he or she is to prescribe brand-name medications. And that influences cost.
The goal is to rein in drug price increases while increasing the chance that patients will get the medication that works best for them. It's an idea that's getting increasing private-sector traction.
NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Debra Houry, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about new opioid guidelines.
Hospitals have pushed staff to wash their hands in an effort to curb the spread of dangerous microbes. But patients' hands are infected, too, a study finds, and can spread bugs to other facilities.
The Internal Revenue Service will evenly divvy up the amount divorced or legally separated spouses owe if they have to repay an insurance tax credit — unless they agree to a different arrangement.