Medicare Looks To Speed Up Pay For Quality Instead Of Volume
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 care
Study Finds Huge Disparities In Costs Of Common Surgeries
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.
App Links Sex Assault Survivors To Help, But Who Downloads It?
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.
Tax Preparers Get Ready To Be Bearers Of Bad News About Health Law
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.
Senator 'Astounded' That Nonprofit Hospitals Sue Poorest Patients
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.
Hospitals' Medicare Quality Bonuses Get Wiped Out By Penalties
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
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.
Terminally Ill, But Constantly Hospitalized
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.
When Nonprofit Hospitals Sue Their Poorest Patients
In exchange for tax breaks, nonprofit hospitals provide assistance to poor patients. But some hospitals seize wages from poor patients with unpaid bills — even those who qualify for reduced-cost care.
War Over Obamacare Heats Up In States
State legislatures are the new battlegrounds for the Affordable Care Act. Lawmakers across the country are at odds over hundreds of bills that would either cripple or prop up the sweeping health law.