health care

A hospital bed is draped with a flag after a veteran died in the hospice ward at St. Albans VA in Queens, N.Y.

VA Steps Up Programs As More Veterans Enter Hospice Care

4:32pm January 28, 2015

by Quil Lawrence

As the generation that served in World War II and Korea grows older, the demand on the Department of Veterans Affairs for end-of-life care is growing with them. Now, the VA is trying new ways to help.

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Health & Safety

Am I Responsible If The Insurance Exchange Flubs My Subsidy?

2:12pm January 28, 2015

by Michelle Andrews

Mistakes are made. If the health insurance marketplaces screw up in calculating subsidies for consumers, it's the individual who is likely to be on the hook for repaying the excess.

Health & Safety

Medicare Looks To Speed Up Pay For Quality Instead Of Volume

11:51am January 27, 2015

by Jordan Rau

The administration wants to tie more of Medicare's spending on health care to quality and to encourage doctors and hospitals to be more frugal in their spending.

Health & Safety

Study Finds Huge Disparities In Costs Of Common Surgeries

9:00am January 27, 2015

Robert Siegel talks to Maureen Sullivan, senior vice president of strategic services and chief strategy officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which did the study.

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The UASK app helps sexually assaulted college students in D.C. access a range of services, from rides to the hospital to phone numbers for counselors. The information is personalized to their school. Another version of the app, ASK, provides the same reso

App Links Sex Assault Survivors To Help, But Who Downloads It?

7:48am January 26, 2015

by Eleanor Klibanoff

The D.C.-based smartphone tool connects people with a ride to the hospital and a team of medical professionals trained in dealing with sexual assault. But students aren't rushing to download the app.

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Lou Graham prepares taxes in Connecticut and is ready to answer client questions about the Affordable Care Act.

Tax Preparers Get Ready To Be Bearers Of Bad News About Health Law

4:17pm January 24, 2015

With Affordable Care Act open enrollment ending Feb. 15, taxpayers could find themselves shut out of health insurance – and saddled with big fines – if they don't deal with taxes early this year.

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Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, Mo., is changing its name to Mosaic Life Care. It was the focus of an NPR and ProPublica investigation into its billing practices.

Senator 'Astounded' That Nonprofit Hospitals Sue Poorest Patients

3:42pm January 24, 2015

by Chris Arnold

NPR and ProPublica have been reporting about nonprofit hospitals that seize the wages of lower-income patients. Sen. Chuck Grassley says hospitals doing that could be breaking the law.

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Hospitals' Medicare Quality Bonuses Get Wiped Out By Penalties

4:43pm January 22, 2015

by Jordan Rau

Medicare is giving hospitals financial incentives to provide better care. But so far about half of the hospitals that got incentive payments found them canceled out by other quality programs.

House Approves Bill That Would Bar Federal Funding For Abortions

3:11pm January 22, 2015

by Bill Chappell

A bill that would prohibit using federal money to pay for "any abortion" or for "health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion" has been approved by the House.

Paula and Ron Faber walk their dog Millie in 2009, between cancer diagnoses.

Terminally Ill, But Constantly Hospitalized

11:25am January 22, 2015

by Fred Mogul

Surveys show Americans would prefer not to die in a hospital. Yet, in New York City, the majority of people do. But the reason is not simple.

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