Jun 17 Insurers choke on price of new hepatitis C-curing pill By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Your money or your life? Sovaldi, a new pill for hepatitis C, cures the liver-wasting disease in 9 of 10 patients, but treatment can cost more than $90,000. Leading medical societies recommend the drug as a first-line treatment,… Continue reading
Jun 17 Insurers take up fight against rising chemotherapy costs By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News Some cancer patients and their insurers are seeing their bills for chemotherapy jump sharply, reflecting increased drug prices and hospitals’ push to buy oncologists’ practices and then bill at higher rates. Continue reading
Jun 16 How one entrepreneur found success over pancakes By Eric Whitney, Kaiser Health News A computer programmer and a kid in a Batman suit walk into a pancake house...it sounds like a joke, but it really happened, and now the programmer, Dave Vockell, has a new product to bring to market. It's an app… Continue reading
Jun 16 Many new patients overwhelmed by health care jargon By Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News Health officials have spent much of the past year promoting the Affordable Care Act and enrolling people in coverage. Now they need to help consumers understand the basics of health insurance and how to use their policies, health care providers… Continue reading
Jun 16 How Dr. Heimlich got his maneuver 40 years ago By Dr. Howard Markel In 1972, the New York Times reported that more than 3,000 people in the U.S. choked to death that year, making it the sixth most common cause of accidental death. Up until that time, the usual response upon discovering a… Continue reading
Jun 14 Watch Brazil confronts dengue fever fears amid World Cup frenzy By PBS News Hour Teams representing 31 countries have descended on Brazil hoping to bring home the World Cup trophy. But amid the excitement, scientists and health specialists are concerned that tourists and players may bring something else home with them: dengue fever, a… Continue watching
Jun 11 House considers waiving healthy school lunch rules despite veto threat By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press The GOP spending bill on the House floor would allow schools to waive the school lunch and breakfast standards championed by first lady Michelle Obama for the next school year if they lost money on meal programs over a six-month… Continue reading
Jun 11 Michigan to reward Medicaid enrollees who take 'personal responsibility' By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News This spring, Michigan became the second state to offer lower premiums and cost sharing to recipients who agree to “personal responsibility.”… Continue reading
Jun 10 Watch Unexpected legislature resignation tips Virginia fight over Medicaid expansion By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Jun 10 Access to students' online health information a boon to school nurses By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News Although the school nurse is a familiar figure, school-based health care is unfamiliar territory to many medical professionals, operating in a largely separate health care universe from other community-based medical services. Continue reading