Category: NPR

To help seniors stay healthy and independent, some Medicare plans will soon cover things like home-delivered meals or rides to the doctor, but finding plans that include the coverage is not easy.

If a funding extension can’t be hammered out in the Montana Legislature, the state could be the first to undo an expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Voters in Idaho, Utah and Nebraska approved ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid, overcoming roadblocks that had kept an estimated 300,000 people from obtaining coverage.

Critics, including some leading anesthesiologists, say the drug is unnecessary, and they worry it will be diverted and abused. The Food And Drug Administration says it is addressing safety concerns.

If the state’s ballot initiative to fund Medicaid’s expansion passes, it will mean a $2-per-pack increase in taxes on cigarettes and a new tax on electronic cigarettes.

Two new studies suggest that minimally invasive surgery for early stage cervical cancer patients leads to death and recurring disease more often than standard surgery through a large incision.

Throughout the U.S., subsidies are available to reduce the price of 2019 policies sold on state and federal insurance exchanges. But promotion of the insurance is varying widely from state to state.

In the U.S., Alzheimer’s clinical trials are largely limited to fluent English speakers, which leaves millions of patients without the opportunity to participate and scientists without diverse data.

Ballot initiatives in Utah, Nebraska and Idaho will determine whether to expand Medicaid, after legislators refused to do so. Montanans will vote on whether to keep the state’s expansion intact.

Democrats are hammering Republicans over their efforts to eliminate insurance protections for pre-existing conditions. Republicans are telling seniors their Medicare coverage may be in danger.