health care

Health & Safety

Do-It-Yourselfers Face Penalties Over Their Cut-Rate Health Insurance

11:47am January 27, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

People sometimes put together policies, such as short-term and critical illness plans, instead of buying more expensive health coverage. But they likely will be penalized under the federal health law.

Anti-Abortion Activists Indicted On Felony Charges In Planned Parenthood Case

7:06pm January 26, 2016

by Jennifer Ludden

A grand jury in Houston has returned indictments against two members of a group that targeted Planned Parenthood with a string of undercover videos last year. The felony indictments are a twist as the panel was originally tasked with investigation the group's claim that Planned Parenthood was selling fetal tissue.

Queue Listen Now

Journal editors want researchers to unlock the data vault.

Journal Editors To Researchers: Show Everyone Your Clinical Data

3:19pm January 26, 2016

by Harlan Krumholz

The world's leading medical journals have a proposal that could transform medical science: Researchers would have to publicly share their clinical data to get their studies published.

Queue Listen Now

Grand Jury Indicts Anti-Abortion Activists Behind Planned Parenthood Videos

10:35pm January 25, 2016

by Wade Goodwyn

A grand jury indicted two activists and cleared a Houston, Texas, Planned Parenthood clinic in a possible misconduct case. The two activists covertly recorded conversations regarding fetal tissue.

Queue Listen Now

Grand Jury Indicts Anti-Abortion Activists Who Made Undercover Videos

8:15pm January 25, 2016

by Laura Wagner

The Texas grand jury investigating Planned Parenthood found no wrongdoing by the abortion provider, but it indicted two anti-abortion activists involved in making covert videos of the organization.

A pharmacist counts pain pills. In an effort to curb the abuse of Oxycontin, Vicodin and other opioid painkillers, some health plans in Massachusetts now limit a patient's initial prescription to a 15-day supply, and plan to halve that number in February.

Insurers Hire Social Workers To Tackle The Opioid Epidemic

6:33pm January 25, 2016

by Deborah Becker

Some health plans in Massachusetts are putting tighter limits on painkiller prescriptions. Others are hiring their own social workers to help customers who struggle with opioid abuse quit for good.

Queue Listen Now

Just because you use insulin doesn't mean you have Type 1 diabetes.

What's Your Type? With Diabetes, It Can Be Unclear

2:48pm January 25, 2016

by Miriam E. Tucker

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are two different conditions, but people can get confused over which is which. Some doctors say it's time to overhaul diabetes definitions.

Tim Kilroy runs a business from his home in Arlington, Mass. His insurance company quit covering the long-acting Ritalin that helps him manage his ADHD.

Fight To Lower Drug Prices Forces Some To Switch Medication

1:28pm January 25, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Health insurers are trying to spark a price war by refusing to pay for some brand-name medications unless they get a big discount. This forces some people to change their prescriptions.

Queue Listen Now

A man prepares to smoke synthetic marijuana on a street in East Harlem in New York City.

Young People Surprised By Risky Synthetic Drugs They Considered Safe

10:43am January 23, 2016

by Leana Wen

Cities across the U.S. have seen surges in ER visits and hospitalizations tied to an evolving category of chemical substances, such as K2 or Spice. What can be done?

Bernie Sanders Revives Debate Over Single-Payer Health Care

4:13pm January 22, 2016

by Scott Horsley

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has revived the debate over a single-payer health care system. NPR explores the arguments for and against it.