Your Roommate In The Nursing Home Might Be A Bedbug
If you're in a medical facility, bedbugs should not be on your worry list. But infestations of the bloodsucking insects in nursing homes and hospitals are on the rise.
health care
Terminally Ill California Mom Speaks Out Against Assisted Suicide
Stephanie Packer's debilitating illnesses leave her in a lot of pain. But she is opposed to a California bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide.
Overnight Contacts Can Help Kids' Sight During Day, But Also Carry Risks
Ophthalmologists and cornea specialists have raised concerns about the lenses, citing studies and their own experiences treating children and teens who developed eye infections after wearing them.
Grassley To Justice Department: Crack Down On Medicare Advantage Overbilling
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is asking the Obama administration pointed questions about what is being done to investigate alleged fraud, waste and abuse by Medicare Advantage plans.
Maine Bill Aims To Make Abuse-Deterrent Painkillers More Affordable
Expensive versions of prescription opioids that are tougher to cut, crush and inject are less likely to be abused, legislators hope. But some doctors call the bill well-meant, but ill-advised.
How Medicare Advantage Investors Profited From Loose Government Lips
When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent a memo to insurers saying government audit policies could be relaxed, investors privy to the news pounced, sending shares upward.
Feds Tell Insurers To Pay For Anesthesia During Screening Colonoscopies
Most people are anesthetized during colonoscopy. Federal law mandates that the cancer test itself must be fully covered by insurers, but quite a few of them didn't pay for anesthesia.
Deaf Jam: Experiencing Music Through A Cochlear Implant
After swapping hearing aids for a cochlear implant, Sam Swiller's taste in music shifted dramatically, from grunge rock to folk. Now scientists are trying to improve how implants relay music.
Ebola Doctor To Grads: Enter The Suffering Of Others
Dr. Kent Brantly, one of the Americans who contracted Ebola last year, was invited back to his medical school to deliver the commencement address. NPR's Rachel Martin highlights some of his speech.
State Legislatures Quarrel Over Whether To Expand Medicaid
Medicaid expansion was a big deal in a handful of state legislatures this year. Wyoming said no. Tennessee said no. But Montana said yes, and three more states are coming down to the wire.