health care

If you're at high risk of hepatitis B infection, your insurance company should pay for testing for the virus without passing any of the cost on to you.

Health & Safety

More Preventive Health Services Approved For No-Cost Coverage

4:02pm June 05, 2015

by Michelle Andrews

The newest recommended services are hepatitis B screening for adolescents and adults at high risk for infection and low-dose aspirin for pregnant women who are at high risk for preeclampsia.

Amil Patel (left) and Bob Dunn run the front desk at this Walgreens pharmacy on the campus of the University of California, San Francisco. The store will be one of the first to take advantage of a new California law expanding pharmacists' scope of practic

Health & Safety

California Women Can Soon Go Right To The Pharmacist For Birth Control

12:44pm June 05, 2015

by April Dembosky

Under a new law being implemented in California, women will be able to walk into a pharmacy, get a prescription for contraceptive pills, the ring, or the patch, and get it filled — all in one visit.

An Access Health CT location in New Britain, Conn.

State Obamacare Exchanges Experience Growing Pains

11:50am June 05, 2015

Minnesota, Colorado and Connecticut are figuring out how to keep their health insurance marketplaces afloat as federal startup funding runs out.

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Diagnosis by text or a phone call is often convenient and popular with patients. But is it good medicine?

Texas Puts Brakes On Telemedicine — And Teladoc Cries Foul

2:12pm June 04, 2015

by Lauren Silverman

As consulting a doctor exclusively by phone, text or video becomes more popular, the Texas Medical Board moves to restrict these e-visits. Is the real battle over patient safety, money or turf?

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Nurse Brittany Combs of Scottsburg, Ind., delivers clean needles to a member of the needle exchange program. Users must have a membership ID card to exchange needles.

Indiana's HIV Outbreak Leads To Reversal On Needle Exchanges

3:43pm June 03, 2015

by Jake Harper

Scott County's needle exchange program is part of a response to the largest HIV outbreak in Indiana history. After a slow start in April, the needle exchange is drawing users and community support.

Women with the earliest form of ductal carcinoma in situ didn't need surgery to get a good survival advantage.

Surgery Doesn't Help Women With Early-Stage Breast Carcinoma

12:21pm June 03, 2015

by Katherine Hobson

Only women with more advanced cases of ductal carcinoma in situ benefited from surgery, a study found. Most women do have surgery for DCIS, although it's a controversial diagnosis.

Health & Safety

If Your Doctor Leaves Your Health Plan, You Can't Easily Follow

10:53am June 03, 2015

by Michelle Andrews

Consumers can switch plans outside of the annual open enrollment period for some specific life changes, but generally not when a doctor falls out of the plan.

How Much Does A Colonoscopy Cost In California? Help Find Out

9:44am June 03, 2015

by Lisa Aliferis

Prices for common medical procedures vary widely, and it can be really hard to find out the true cost up front. This crowdsourcing project aims to help draw back the curtain on colonoscopy costs.

"Over the moon excited, terrified, scared, emotional," is how Jetta'Mae Carlisle says she felt before her surgery.

What It's Like To Choose Transgender Sex Reassignment Surgery

4:54pm June 02, 2015

by Meredith Rizzo

There are many different ways to be transgender. For some people that includes sex reassignment surgery. A young filmmaker follows two people who made that choice through their year of transition.

High Price Of Cancer Treatment Drugs Is 'Unsustainable,' Doctor Says

10:46pm June 01, 2015

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Dr. Leonard Saltz, chief of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, about his concerns regarding the high price of cancer treatment drugs.

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