Category: NPR

With an off-label drug discontinued, families’ other option costs thousands more

Kids who need a hormone-blocking drug to prevent premature puberty have lost an off-label option. The company that makes the medicine, which is 1/8 the cost of the FDA-approved version, withdrew it.

The U.S. has new COVID vaccine rules for international travelers. Here’s what to know

The requirements set by the Biden administration take effect Nov. 8 and cover approved vaccines, exceptions for the unvaccinated and protocols after arrival.

6 tips to help you pick the right health insurance plan

The open enrollment period to buy health insurance on HealthCare.gov starts now and runs through Jan. 15, 2022. Look for more options and expanded subsidies this year — and more help signing up.

Syphilis is resurging in the U.S., a sign of public health’s funding crisis

The country nearly eradicated this treatable sexually transmitted disease twice, only to see it come roaring back. The failure shows the weakness of a cash-strapped public health system.

OB-GYN struggles to navigate care under Texas abortion law

NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, an OB-GYN in Texas, about the state of reproductive rights two months after the passage of Senate Bill 8, a restrictive abortion law.

Life Kit: Picking the right health insurance for you

Choosing between health insurance plans can be a headache. How do you pick the right one?

Parents should be patient about getting COVID vaccines for kids, White House says

There are fresh logistical challenges, warns the White House’s COVID czar in an exclusive interview with NPR. For example, young children will be getting a smaller dose delivered via smaller needles.

Getting dental coverage added to Medicare faces pushback from some dentists

Without dental insurance, William Stork has put off getting his rotten tooth pulled; Medicare doesn’t cover the $1,000 procedure. Dentists can’t agree whether all seniors should get that benefit.

108,000 people will get medical debt relief after Stacey Abrams’ PAC gifts $1.34M

The Fair Fight Political Action Committee says its donation to the RIP Medical Debt nonprofit will benefit residents in 5 Southern states, part of Fair Fight Action’s advocacy for Medicaid expansion.

A hospital hiked the price of their healthy baby’s birth by calling it an ’emergency’

“Obstetrical emergency departments” are a new aspect of some hospitals that can inflate medical bills for even the easiest, healthiest births. Just ask baby Gus’s parents about their $2,755 ER charge.