Health Insurance

A drug implant was prescribed for an active 8-year-old girl diagnosed with central precocious puberty. The price of one option was thousands of dollars less than the other.

Health & Safety

Hormone Blocker Sticker Shock: Kids Drug Costs 8 Times More Than One For Adults

5:11am February 24, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

Two nearly identical drug implants have very different prices. The one for kids has a list price of $37,300. For adults, it's $4,400. A dad fought for his daughter to be able to get the cheaper drug.

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James Mark (center) inside his restaurant Big King, along with cooks (from left) Oscar Lange, Emily Joslyn, Peter Kachmarsky and JC Kuvaszko. Mark employs fewer than 50 people so isn't required to provide health benefits. But it helps with staff retention

Health & Safety

A Top Restaurateur Thinks Single-Payer Health Care Could Boost His Bottom Line

8:50am February 04, 2020

by Shefali Luthra

Offering health benefits can help elite restaurants hire and keep ace employees. But owners would rather focus on great food, they say, than drown in administrative costs. Is single-payer the answer?

Sure, you can shoot your doctor an email, or hit the urgent care clinic when you have a sore throat. But those convenient alternatives may be less likely than regular visits to a primary provider to catch symptoms that ebb and flow, yet might signal a lar

Health & Safety

As Out-Of-Pocket Health Costs Rise, Insured Adults Are Seeking Less Primary Care

5:22pm February 03, 2020

by Elena Renken

When's the last time you checked in with your primary care provider? U.S. adults under age 65 made nearly 25% fewer visits to primary care providers in 2016 than in 2008, a big study finds.

Joshua Bates, a technical recruiter for a staffing firm, who lives in Charlotte, N.C., was "balance billed" by an out-of-network hospital after an emergency appendectomy.

Health & Safety

A $41,212 Surgery Bill Compounded A Patient's Appendicitis Pain

9:10pm January 29, 2020

by Julie Appleby

A young man averted disaster after a friend took him to the nearest hospital just before his appendix burst. But more than a year later, he's still facing a huge bill for his out-of-network surgery.

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Overall, U.S. health spending is more than twice the average of other Western nations, and it's not just a matter of high drug prices. No wonder voters list health and the high price of care as one of their major election concerns as they head to the poll

U.S. Elections 2020: Understanding What's At Stake For Health Care

1:02pm January 29, 2020

by Julie Rovner

With the Iowa caucuses and first primaries just weeks away, many voters say they're still confused about how presidential candidates differ on health care. Here's a guide to key issues and terms.

Roughly 1 in 10 infants were born prematurely in the U.S. in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The drug Makena is widely prescribed to women at high risk of going into labor early, though the latest research suggests the m

Drug To Prevent Premature Birth Divides Doctors, Insurers And FDA Experts

11:23am January 24, 2020

by Emmarie Huetteman

An expert panel convened by the FDA says the drug Makena should be withdrawn from the market because a review of its effectiveness shows it doesn't work. But OB-GYNS who prescribe the drug disagree.

Student demonstrators cheered in 2015 outside the Supreme Court after learning that the high court had upheld the Affordable Care Act as law of the land. But Republican foes of the federal health law are still working to have it struck down.

Stakes High For Democrats And Republicans In Bid To Rush ACA To Supreme Court

5:00am January 08, 2020

by Julie Rovner

Both sides say they want the high court to quickly weigh in on a case that could invalidate the federal health law. Whatever the court decides will likely have consequences in 2020 elections.

Martin Shkreli, former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, appeared before the House Oversight Committee during a contentious hearing on drug pricing on Feb. 4, 2016.

Health & Safety

A Decade Marked By Outrage Over Drug Prices

3:08pm December 31, 2019

by Sydney Lupkin

Nearly 1 in 4 Americans has trouble affording prescription drugs, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Over the past decade, high prices of several medicines have become flashpoints.

When Alexa Kasdan's sore throat lingered for more than a week, she went to her doctor. The doctor sent her throat swab and blood draw to an out-of-network lab for sophisticated DNA tests, resulting in a $28,395.50 bill.

Health & Safety

For Her Head Cold, Insurer Coughed Up $25,865

10:54am December 23, 2019

by Richard Harris

A New York woman worried that her sore throat might be strep, so she went to the doctor to have it checked out. Then came the bill — with a price tag similar to a small SUV.

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Health & Safety

Government Extends Open Enrollment For ACA Health Plans, But Only For 36 Hours

7:54pm December 16, 2019

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

The deadline for enrolling in health plans on HealthCare.gov was supposed to be Sunday. But the federal agency in charge reopened the sign-up period, after an outcry over technical glitches.