Health Insurance

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, joined protesters outside the U.S. Capitol in late November, as Republicans in the Senate worked to pass a sweeping tax bill.

Health & Safety

Heading North: American Doctors Report Back From Canada

9:50am December 14, 2017

by Shefali Luthra

Advocates for single-payer health care in the U.S. often look to Canada as a model. But some American doctors practicing there wonder whether the U.S. is ready to call health care a right.

Consumers Hunting For Health Insurance Find High Prices — And Some Great Deals

9:30am December 14, 2017

Shop around. That's the advice of health insurance navigators for people seeking health policies on the Affordable Care Act's state and federal exchanges. Premiums have climbed but so have subsidies.

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Isabel Diaz Tinoco and Jose Luis Tinoco had some questions for the Miami insurance agent who helped guide them in signing up for a HealthCare.gov policy at the Mall of the Americas in November.

HealthCare.gov Enrollment Ends Friday. Sign-ups Likely to Trail Last Year's

4:57pm December 13, 2017

by Alison Kodjak

A shorter enrollment period and big cuts in the federal budget for outreach are taking a toll, say those helping with health insurance sign-ups. Deadlines for most state exchanges are a little later.

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Opposition to Obamacare has been strong from the beginning. Demonstrators made their dissatisfaction clear in front of the Supreme Court in 2015.

Health & Safety

Why Do So Many People Hate Obamacare So Much?

4:52pm December 13, 2017

by Julie Rovner

Some knocks on the Affordable Care Act are ideological. Others are misunderstandings. People who make too much to qualify for subsidies to defray their mandated insurance purchases have suffered.

The first baby born as a result of a womb transplant in the United States in the neonatal unit at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

First Baby Born To U.S. Uterus Transplant Patient Raises Ethics Questions

5:34pm December 05, 2017

by Greta Jochem

A woman who received a uterus transplant recently delivered a healthy baby boy. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with the doctors working on the experiment about its ethics, risk, and cost implications.

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Margarita Mills (left), an insurance agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, helped Daniela Morales shop for an Affordable Care Act health plan at the Mall of the Americas in Miami last month.

ACA Navigators Are Busy With Sign-Ups, Despite Federal Cuts To Outreach

5:00am December 05, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

With enrollment funding tight, health plan navigators and assisters are getting creative about getting the word out and signing people up for Affordable Care Act plans.

Proposed changes to the tax law could eliminate the deduction for medical expenses. Those who use it generally have very high medical expenses, often for a disabled child, a serious chronic illness or expensive long-term care not covered by health insuran

Health & Safety

5 Ways Congressional Tax Legislation Would Transform Health Care

3:12pm December 01, 2017

by Julie Rovner

Even though congressional Republicans formally set aside their Obamacare repeal-and-replace efforts this summer, there are big policy changes that could become law under pending tax proposals.

A coalition of mental health advocacy groups is calling on federal regulators, state agencies and employers to conduct random audits of insurers to make sure they are in compliance with the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.

Health Insurers Are Still Skimping On Mental Health Coverage

12:09pm November 30, 2017

by Jenny Gold

Behavioral care is four times more likely to be out-of-network than medical or surgical care, a nationwide study shows. That can make treatment unaffordable even for people who have health insurance.

Lauren Kafka rented a machine that delivered cold water and compression to manage pain after rotator cuff surgery. Her insurance company said it wasn't medically necessary and refused to pay for it.

Health & Safety

The Insurance Company Paid For Opioids, But Not Cold Therapy

10:52am November 25, 2017

by Lauren Kafka

It seemed like such a good idea: Use cold therapy to reduce the need for opioid painkillers after shoulder surgery. But this woman's insurance company said no dice.

Supporters of women's health rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., March 23, 2016, as the Court hears oral arguments in seven cases dealing with religious organizations that want to ban contraceptives from their health insurance policies on

Massachusetts Set To Approve Law Protecting Access To Birth Control

3:43pm November 20, 2017

by Samantha Raphelson

The Massachusetts law would make it the first state to circumvent a federal policy allowing any company to opt out of providing free birth control coverage due to a religious or moral exemption.