health care

White House Delays Part Of Health Care Law

8:19am April 03, 2013

by Julie Rovner

The Obama administration has decided to delay for a year a key piece of the health law that will let small businesses provide a choice of health plans to their workers. It is the first admission that the task of rolling out the law is too complicated to accomplish in the time allowed.

Queue Listen Now

Three Years On, States Still Struggle With Health Care Law Messaging

6:25pm March 30, 2013

by NPR Staff

After all the acrimony and debate, many Americans still don't know whether their states are going to expand Medicaid or set up health care exchanges. A lot of the confusion over the Affordable Care Act comes, in part, from a commanding "misinformation and disinformation" campaign.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Cornerstone Health Care Expanding into Western NC

8:25pm March 29, 2013

One Triad-based health care organization is vastly expanding its presence in North Carolina.

Queue Listen Now

Pennsylvania Tightens Abortion Rules Following Clinic Deaths

6:38pm March 28, 2013

by Jeff Brady

A Philadelphia doctor who performed abortions is accused of murder in the deaths of a patient and seven babies who the prosecutor says were born alive. Abortion opponents cited the case as a reason to push for stricter regulations on clinics.

Queue Listen Now

Some insurers prefer to pay for manual breast pumps, but some working moms prefer more expensive, electric models.

Law Says Insurers Should Pay For Breast Pumps, But Which Ones?

9:30am March 27, 2013

by Kristian Foden-Vencil

Health insurers are obligated to cover pumps to help moms breast-feed. But there is a variety of equipment. Some nursing mothers prefer faster, electric models that cost more. Insurers may say a less expensive manual pump would do just fine.

Queue Listen Now

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe speaks at a rally promoting the expansion of Medicaid in the state in front of the Capitol in Little Rock on March 7.

Arkansas Medicaid Expansion Attracts Other States' Interest

9:57am March 26, 2013

by Julie Rovner

Arkansas is proposing to enroll people newly eligible for Medicaid in the same private insurance plans available to individuals and small businesses. It's caught the attention of several other Republican-run states that had been holding out on the Medicaid expansion.

Queue Listen Now

Dr. Frank Dumont at his clinic in Estes Park, Colo.

How A Patient's Suicide Changed A Doctor's Approach To Guns

9:11am March 22, 2013

by Eric Whitney

Dr. Frank Dumont never thought of himself as being on the front lines of suicide prevention. But after the death of a patient he was particularly close to, he sees his role changing. He's seeking to reduce suicides by asking his patients about guns in their homes.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

What The Case Of A Mississippi Child Can Tell HIV Researchers

2:53pm March 18, 2013

For the first time, scientists believe a child infected with HIV has been cured. NPR health correspondent Richard Knox explains this case and other developments in HIV research presented at the 2013 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

Queue Listen Now

A bartender pours a beer at the Nomad Pub in Milwaukee, Wisc., in 2006.

Health & Safety

Binge Drinking Sticks Wisconsin With A Hefty Tab

9:47am March 16, 2013

Wisconsin has the highest number of binge drinkers in the nation, and they cost the state $6.8 billion in 2012.

Queue Listen Now

Improving Healthcare, One Search At A Time

1:03pm March 15, 2013

By combing through 100 million search queries on Bing, Yahoo and Google, Microsoft Research Lab co-director Eric Horvitz and his colleagues were able to discover a previously unknown interaction between two commonly prescribed drugs. Horvitz says the method might detect dangerous drug interactions earlier than the FDA's warning system.

Queue Listen Now