Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says health providers who have exploited a complicated system to charge exorbitant rates will have to bear their share of the cost — or close.
Category: NPR
CDC advisers back expansion of COVID boosters for all adults
Hours after the Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine for all adults 18 years and older, a panel of experts endorsed their use with a few caveats.
The ER charged him $6,589.77 for 6 stitches, a cost that led his wife to avoid the ER
With few options for health care in their rural community, a Tennessee couple’s experience with one outrageous bill could have led to a deadly delay when they needed help the most.
Biden’s plan to stop surprise medical bills faces bipartisan pushback in Congress
Congress passed a law last year to shield patients from surprise out-of-network medical charges. But many doctors in the House now say the way the law is to be implemented unfairly favors insurers.
Colleges are turning to science to limit suicide contagion and help heal campuses
The new strategy is called “postvention.” It means having a plan built on truth, compassion and counseling that quickly addresses the mental health needs of friends and classmates after a suicide.
How the Texas ban on most abortions is harming survivors of rape and incest
The Texas law has no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. Social workers say that’s hurting some survivors financially, psychologically and physically.
Priti Krishtel: How can we reform the outdated US patent system to lower drug prices?
The U.S. patent system was designed to foster innovation and serve the public good. But it’s no longer working as intended. Lawyer Priti Krishtel explains the consequences and how to change that.
Medicare Advantage’s cost to taxpayers has soared in recent years, research finds
An alternative to original Medicare, the private plans are run mostly by major insurers. A recent analysis estimates Medicare overpaid these insurers by $106 billion from 2010 through 2019.
Filipino American health workers reflect on trauma and healing on COVID’s frontlines
They have shouldered an outsize share of COVID-19’s burden, statistics show. Many lost family members; others got sick themselves, recovered and carried on. Meet the caregivers.
Pfizer says its COVID-19 pill cuts disease’s worst risks by 89%
Based on the strength of the trial’s results, Pfizer says it will ask the FDA for emergency use authorization rather than enroll more people for clinical trials.
