Stories Tagged as
Health care
FDA website to post names of drug makers blocking development of cheaper generics
May 17, 2018
The FDA plans to unveil a website today naming pharmaceutical companies that have blocked the development of generic drugs by failing to provide samples to competitors. This public posting is part of FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s larger crackdown to, as he says, “end the shenanigans” by brand name drug companies. Click the audio player above […]
Patients in a mental health crisis often end up in ERs, which are ill-equipped to help
by
Elly Yu
May 15, 2018
Emergency rooms are often the first places people end up during a mental health crisis. But many ERs aren’t really equipped to help. After they check in, patients can end up staying in emergency rooms for days just waiting for in-patient psychiatric treatment elsewhere. As emergency rooms see a growing number of behavioral health patients, […]
In the midst of a massive opioid crisis, hospitals are experiencing an opioid shortage
May 14, 2018
Drug shortages are nothing new in U.S. hospitals.
Trump unveils plan for cutting drug prices. Will it work?
May 11, 2018
President Donald Trump on Friday took the wraps off his long-awaited plan for cutting drug prices. In a speech, the president announced measures to increase competition and pricing transparency as ways to drive down costs, which have been spiraling. He did not put forward any plan to use the huge buying power of the federal […]
Where are Affordable Care Act premiums headed?
May 4, 2018
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the Republican-controlled House voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the vote would increase the number of uninsured Americans by more than 20 million. Well, Obamacare is still standing, but as part of the tax overhaul, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans […]
Some health care firms focus on empathy to keep people healthier
May 2, 2018
One reason for the interest in a more empathetic clinical staff stems from the fact that hospitals and physicians, increasingly, have financial incentives to keep patients out of the hospital.
Capping out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare patients wouldn't lower drug prices
Apr 30, 2018
Several health economists and policy experts argue until Washington forces drug companies to lower their overall prices, an out-of-pocket Medicare cap is just dabbling at the edges.
For public good, not for profit.
What happens when a hospital sells its debt?
by
Miles Bryan
Apr 9, 2018
More hospitals across the country are selling debt from unpaid medical bills to collection agencies.
As hospitals increasingly close in rural areas, communities consider a hybrid health center model
by
Blake Farmer
Mar 28, 2018
Without enough patients with health insurance, hospitals are closing in rural parts of the country. Some communities have turned to hybrid health centers — shy of a hospital but more than a clinic — to try to meet their community's health needs.
Key health care measure left out of federal spending bill
Mar 23, 2018
Congress jammed a lot into its $1.3 trillion spending bill, and we’ll be going through the bill’s 2,000-plus pages for some time. But there was one thing noticeably left out: a last-ditch compromise amendment on health care sponsored by Republican senators Susan Collins and Lamar Alexander. The so-called “stabilization” package was designed to keep health insurance […]