Medical Treatments

The "Cadillac tax," an enacted but not yet implemented part of the Affordable Care Act, is a 40% tax on the most generous employer-provided health insurance plans — those that cost more than $11,200 per year for an individual policy or $30,150 for famil

'Cadillac Tax' On Generous Health Plans May Be Headed For Repeal

3:51pm August 14, 2019

by Julie Rovner

The tax on an employer's generous health plan — originally envisioned as a way to get patients to avoid unneeded care — has never been implemented. Now Congress is considering a bipartisan repeal.

Richard Ost owns Philadelphia Pharmacy, in the city's Kensington neighborhood. He says he has stopped carrying Suboxone, for the most part, because the illegal market for the drug brought unwanted traffic to his store.

It's The Go-To Drug To Treat Opioid Addiction. Why Won't More Pharmacies Stock It?

1:27pm August 13, 2019

by Nina Feldman

It can be hard enough finding a doctor who prescribes buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid addiction. But patients also report difficulty with pharmacies that refuse to stock the drug.

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Health workers in protective suits tend to an Ebola victim kept in an isolation cube in Beni in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

2 Experimental Ebola Drugs Saved Lives In Congo Outbreak

10:47pm August 12, 2019

by Richard Harris

Drugs tested in the Democratic Republic of Congo are effective in treating Ebola, scientists say. They have run a study in the midst of a deadly epidemic and in the face of armed assaults on doctors.

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Scientists are exploring new drugs that can fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as MRSA.

Health & Safety

To Find The Next Antibiotic, Scientists Give Old Drugs A New Purpose

4:31pm August 12, 2019

by Luisa Torres

Scientists discovered that a medication used to treat parasites in horses can fight deadly staph infections. It's a promising new approach to solving the problem of antibiotic resistance.

If a doctor is found to be ordering too many MRI or CT scans or other imaging tests for Medicare patients, a federal law is supposed to require the physician to get federal approval for all diagnostic imaging. But the Trump administration has stalled the

Health & Safety

Trump Team Hits Brakes On Law That Would Curb Unneeded Medicare CT Scans, MRIs

11:05am August 09, 2019

by Phil Galewitz

Critics worry that the administration's delays come at a steep cost: Medicare continues to pay for millions of unnecessary exams and patients are being subjected to radiation for no medical benefit.

Why Competition Hasn't Brought Down The High Price Of Snakebite Treatment

2:37pm August 08, 2019

by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez

The snakebite antivenin CroFab, on the U.S. market since 2000, now faces competition from a drug called Anavip. But both are expensive. "Perverse incentives" keep prices high, says one legal scholar.

A large new "sensory space" at Pittsburgh International Airport is divided into separate rooms; families can tailor sound and light levels to each traveler, whatever their age.

Kids And Adults With Autism Flying Easier In Pittsburgh, With Airport's Help

1:24pm August 08, 2019

by Kathleen Davis

Pittsburgh International Airport has opened a 1,500-square-foot "sensory space" to help people on the autism spectrum decompress during travel. Soothing colors and private, soundproof rooms are a hit.

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John Poynter of Clarksville, Tenn., uses a wall calendar to keep track of all his appointments for both behavioral health and physical ailments. His mental health case manager, Valerie Klein, appears regularly on the calendar — and helps make sure he ge

Health & Safety

Coordinating Care Of Mind And Body Might Help Medicaid Save Money And Lives

4:35pm August 07, 2019

by Blake Farmer

Tennessee's innovative Medicaid program is offering bonuses to mental health providers who help make sure their Medicaid patients get preventive help and treatment for physical ailments too.

Robyn Adcock (left), a University of California, San Francisco pain relief specialist, gently guides Jessica Greenfield to acupressure points on her son's foot and leg that have helped relieve his chronic pain.

Pain Rescue Team Helps Seriously Ill Kids Cope In Terrible Times

12:41pm August 05, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

An interdisciplinary team in San Francisco uses acupressure, massage, counseling and other methods, as well as medicine, to help kids get relief from chronic pain. But such pediatric centers are rare.

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Plump red blood cells — tumbling amid infection-fighting white blood cells and purple platelets in this colorized, microscopic view — need adequate levels of iron to be able to carry and deliver oxygen around the body. Iron-deficiency anemia is someti

Health & Safety

$2,733 To Treat Iron-Poor Blood? Iron Infusions For Anemia Under Scrutiny

3:39pm August 01, 2019

by Shefali Luthra

Iron-deficiency anemia is often remedied with drugstore iron pills. But if that doesn't work, doctors sometimes prescribe iron infusions — and the bill for that can vary by thousands of dollars. Why?