Health

Employees at all Lowe's home improvement stores, including this one in South San Francisco, Calif., are eligible to have certain surgeries paid for by the company at selected hospitals.

Some Firms Save Money By Offering Employees Free Surgery

5:39pm April 20, 2016

by Michael Tomsic

The idea is this: Negotiate a flat price with a few hospitals to cover surgery, physical therapy and certain other treatments. Companies save money and hospitals gain patients.

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Watch the webcast April 20 at 12:30 p.m. ET about health care inequality from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Webcast: Health Care Inequalities In America

4:32pm April 20, 2016

by Joe Neel

NPR polls found significant differences in the quality of health care experienced by Americans, depending on income. A webcast at 12:30 p.m. ET Wednesday will examine the disparities.

CDC Finds Life Expectancy For White Women Has Declined

4:29pm April 20, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

White women are dying at a slightly younger age than in the past, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same report shows the average life expectancy for non-Hispanic black men increased. NPR reports about the possible causes behind these numbers.

Members of Congress complained to the administration that hospitals needed more time to check the accuracy of quality ratings.

Health & Safety

Medicare Delays Plans For New Star Ratings Of Hospitals

2:19pm April 20, 2016

by Jordan Rau

Medicare's "overall hospital quality" rating aims to help consumers by boiling down a variety of measurements into a number star. But Congress asked the administration to hold off on the change.

Demographers can use average life expectancy of a population as a clue to underlying changes in health and culture.

Life Expectancy Drops For White Women, Increases For Black Men

9:50am April 20, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Suicide, drug abuse and alcohol have started to shorten the lives of white women, a U.S. report on data from 2013 to 2014 suggests. Life-expectancy for many black men went up from 71.8 years to 72.2.

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Innovative Blood Testing Company Theranos Under Criminal Investigation

10:28pm April 19, 2016

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carreyrou about the criminal investigation into the Theranos blood lab.

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The Clinical Center on the campus of the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Md., is an internationally renowned hospital where patients are also research subjects.

NIH Halts Some Research Amid Concerns Over Contamination And Safety

6:54pm April 19, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The National Institutes of Health shut down some clinical trials and two production facilities over concerns that safety rules haven't been followed, but it says no patients appear to have been hurt.

When deductibles and copays are high, quite a few people with insurance turn to free clinics for care.

For The Insured But Cash-Strapped, Free Health Clinics Still Have A Place

5:57pm April 19, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Although many people thought the federal health law would reduce the need for free clinics, low-income people with high deductibles and copays still frequent the clinics for routine care.

Is Crowdfunding An OK Way To Raise Money For Zika Research?

4:54pm April 19, 2016

by Wudan Yan

The Zika Virus Challenge has posted researchers' projects and is asking for pledges. Should the reaction be skepticism — or enthusiasm?

UnitedHealth Group, based in Minnetonka, Minn., says it expects to lose $650 million on health exchange plans this year. Many people who bought the plans are in relatively poor health, the company says.

UnitedHealth To Leave Most Obamacare Exchanges In 2017

3:38pm April 19, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Blaming a lack of profitability, UnitedHealth says it will drop out of most health marketplaces insurance exchanges next year. The insurer's first quarter profits in 2016 were $1.6 billion.