health care

Protesters fill the Miami office of state Rep. Manny Diaz Jr. on Sept. 20 to protest his stance against expansion of health coverage in Florida.

States' Refusal To Expand Medicaid May Leave Millions Uninsured

12:12pm October 24, 2013

by Julie Rovner

The idea was that Medicaid would expand to include people not covered under the Affordable Care Act. But many states have chosen not to expand coverage, despite financial incentives from the federal government. That may leave millions of people without any health coverage at all.

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Why Postponing Insurance Mandate Is No Easy Fix For Obamacare

7:57pm October 23, 2013

by Julie Rovner

One of the big questions now is what will happen if the federal health insurance website can't be fixed soon. Will the government penalize people for not having insurance if they couldn't realistically buy it?

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Obama Says He's 'Frustrated' About Health Care Site Issues

3:37pm October 22, 2013

At the White House on Monday, President Obama acknowledged widespread problems with his health care law's website while still defending the Affordable Care Act. NPR White House Correspondent Scott Horsley talks with Steve Inskeep about the president's remarks.

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If A Tech Company Had Built The Federal Health Care Website

5:25pm October 21, 2013

by Steve Henn

The rollout of the health care exchange has been plagued by a host of technical problems. Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley likely would have approached the website differently from the beginning — one former startup employee says that has to do with how projects are funded.

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Obamacare Fight Leads Sen. Roberts To Turn Against Old Friend Sebelius

1:28pm October 18, 2013

by Don Gonyea

Despite their failure to defund the health care law, Republicans still detest it — and now there's a movement underway to oust Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. What's unexpected is that the effort is being led by Sen. Pat Roberts, a fellow Kansan she has long had close ties to.

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Some patients at MultiCare Auburn Medical Center in Washington are given wristbands showing that they have a high risk of falling.

To Reduce Patient Falls, Hospitals Try Alarms, More Nurses

6:39pm October 16, 2013

by John Ryan

Patients fall in just a small fraction of hospital visits. But safety experts say bad falls should be called "never events" and shouldn't ever happen inside hospitals. There's a difference of opinion over the best way to reduce hazardous falls.

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So What's The Real Deadline For Obamacare Sign-Up?

1:06pm October 16, 2013

by Julie Rovner

Now that enrollment has opened for coverage under the Affordable Care Act, one of the biggest questions people have is, what's the deadline? It's Dec. 15 if you want coverage to start on Jan. 1. But open enrollment actually runs through March 2014. After that, you'll generally have to wait until next fall.

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Why A Medical Device Tax Became Part Of The Fiscal Fight

6:12pm October 15, 2013

by Peter Overby

A sales tax on medical devices was passed to help pay for the Affordable Care Act. Manufacturers have been waging a persistent campaign to get rid of it. Now it's one of the bargaining chips being tossed around in the budget crisis on Capitol Hill.

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Edward Avalos, one of the first certified enrollment specialists in California, is a very busy man.

California Trains Helpers To Meet Demand For Health Insurance

11:03am October 11, 2013

by Sarah Varney

The California health exchange has focused on drumming up interest in coverage during the first month of operation. Certified enrollment counselors can barely keep up with the requests for assistance that are rolling in.

Health & Safety

Web Glitches Hinder Mississippians Signing Up For Insurance

11:02am October 11, 2013

by Jeffrey Hess

Mississippi is one of 34 states that has let the federal government run its health insurance exchange. It has had the same glitches and long wait times as other states. Despite the trouble, people are slowly signing up.

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