Category: NPR

After years of price hikes, the cost of the average Affordable Care Act policy is dropping across the U.S. Competition among insurers has increased as the political uncertainty starts to settle down.

NPR’s Audie Cornish speaks with ProPublica reporter Marshall Allen about an investigation detailing how health insurers pass the high costs for sleep apnea breathing machines onto patients.

Although researchers acknowledge many factors could be at play, a recent study suggests that seriously ill children who had once-in-a-lifetime wishes fulfilled also incurred lower health care costs.

The state has started to reduce overdose deaths by offering counseling and medication for opioid addiction in prison. Research finds the treatment helps inmates avoid relapse after release.

Most children moving to the U.S. from Central America come without adults, hoping to join parents or family already living in the U.S. To succeed, psychologists say, these families need support.

In its latest effort to curb smoking by young people, the FDA wants to outlaw menthol cigarettes. The agency would also restrict sales of flavored e-cigarettes to reduce youth addiction to nicotine.

Installment plans and refunds for treatments that don’t work are two options getting more attention as ultra-expensive therapies become more common. The financial strains will only grow.

Pain medications commonly used in labor present medical and mental challenges for pregnant women recovering from opioid addiction.

As the incidents of mass shootings in the U.S. occur, some people are starting to feel numbed by them. Psychologists says this is normal.

Join us for a live discussion of major issues facing rural America, based on a recent poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.