Hospitals

Shereese Hickson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012 and is unable to work. She supports herself and her son, Isaiah, on $770 a month.

Health & Safety

Chronically Ill, Traumatically Billed: $123,019 For 2 Multiple Sclerosis Treatments

11:12pm November 27, 2018

by Jay Hancock

Shereese Hickson's doctor wanted her to try a drug called Ocrevus for her multiple sclerosis. Trained as a medical billing coder, Hickson was shocked by the six-figure bill and the share she owed.

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Infections with Clostridium difficile can crop up after a round of antibiotics.

Health & Safety

Dangerous Infection Tied To Hospitals Now Becoming Common Outside Them

7:01am November 25, 2018

by Clayton Dalton

Infections with Clostridium difficile can be difficult to treat and life-threatening. Once a problem seen mainly in health care facilities, the infections are now occurring often in the community.

Ochsner Baptist Hospital in New Orleans hasn't needed device reps' help since it started using technology from a company called Sight Medical that handles inventory management.

Health & Safety

Sales Reps May Be Wearing Out Their Welcome In The Operating Room

4:05pm November 23, 2018

by Blake Farmer

It has been an open secret that salespeople are present for surgeries at many hospitals, especially for hip and knee implants. But does the reps' expertise outweigh concerns about ethics and costs?

A major study published Monday finds that widely prescribed antipsychotic drugs like haloperidol are no more effective than a placebo for treating delirium.

Antipsychotic Drugs Don't Ease ICU Delirium Or Dementia

4:59pm October 22, 2018

by Richard Harris

Though widely prescribed in hospital intensive care units to treat hallucinations and other signs of delirium, Haldol and similar drugs are no better than a placebo for such patients, a study finds.

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Marilyn Bartlett spent two years running Montana's employee health plan. She made better deals with hospitals and drug benefits managers and saved the plan from bankruptcy.

A Tough Negotiator Proves Employers Can Bargain Down Health Care Prices

6:33pm October 02, 2018

by Marshall Allen

A former health insurance executive has made it her mission to bring down high health care costs. She's demanding a better deal for employers — and the workers whose care they pay for.

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"The biggest challenge for me was to see how I would be a father again," says Dr. Naveed Khan, who was injured while driving an all-terrain vehicle. "With two able-bodied parents at home, it was easier."

Health & Safety

Taken For A Ride: M.D. Injured In ATV Crash Gets $56,603 Bill For Air Ambulance Trip

5:00pm September 25, 2018

by Alison Kodjak

After an accident in an all-terrain vehicle crushed a doctor's left arm, he was whisked by air ambulance to the closest trauma center for specialized care. Soon he was fighting over the $56,603 bill.

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The total bill for Drew Calver's four-day hospital stay at St. David's Medical Center in April 2017 was $164,941. His insurer paid $55,840, leaving Calver responsible for the unpaid balance of $108,951.31.

Health & Safety

The Remedy For Surprise Medical Bills May Lie In Stitching Up Federal Law

5:11pm September 10, 2018

Gaps in a wide-ranging law covering employee benefits can blindside consumers whose health coverage is provided by company and union health plans that pay claims out of their own funds.

Intermountain Healthcare, whose Intermountain Medical Center Patient Tower in Murray, Utah, is seen here, is a leader in the generic drug company being launched by hospitals.

Health & Safety

Hospitals Prepare To Launch Their Own Drug Company To Fight High Prices And Shortages

12:35pm September 06, 2018

by Alison Kodjak

A consortium of hospital systems and three foundations is moving ahead with a nonprofit drugmaker that would produce some of the generic medicines health care facilities need the most.

Drew Calver, a high school history teacher and swim coach in Austin, Texas, had a heart attack at his home on April 2, 2017. A neighbor rushed him to the nearby emergency room at St. David's Medical Center, which wasn't in the school district's health pla

His $109K Heart Attack Bill Is Now Down To $332 After NPR Told His Story

7:22pm August 31, 2018

by Chad Terhune

"I don't feel any consumer should have to go through this," says Drew Calver, of the huge surprise bill he got from an Austin hospital after his 2017 heart attack. He's worried about other patients.

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Michael Vigil, an oil contractor from Douglas, Wyo., traveled 250 miles to Denver to have his aortic valve replaced in May. He said he would have preferred his local hospital do the procedure.

Health & Safety

Hospitals Battle For Control Over Fast-Growing Heart-Valve Procedure

8:29am August 17, 2018

by Phil Galewitz

Medicare limits payments for minimally invasive replacement of aortic valves to hospitals with large numbers of heart procedures. But smaller facilities are crying foul.