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Health Inc. : Shots - Health News As spending on care rises, the business of health keeps getting more important. We feature news on and analysis of drugmakers, health insurers, hospitals, doctors and others in the business of providing health care.

Shots

Health News From NPR

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Tuesday January 15, 2013

These Are The Tweets That Will Get A Doctor In Trouble

What's up, doc? How would you feel if your doctor shared a picture like this one? Dr. Ryan Greysen hide caption

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Dr. Ryan Greysen

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These Are The Tweets That Will Get A Doctor In Trouble

January 15, 2013 • The boards that license and discipline doctors are watching what they post online. Guaranteed cancer cures and photos of drunken debauchery are definite no-nos. A picture of a doctor holding a drink at an office party might raise an eyebrow but probably wouldn't trigger an investigation.

Thursday January 10, 2013

Wake-Up Call: FDA Pushes Drugmakers To Weaken Sleeping Pills

Tim Boyle/Getty Images

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Wake-Up Call: FDA Pushes Drugmakers To Weaken Sleeping Pills

January 10, 2013 • The active ingredient in many sleep aid medications like Ambien stays in the body longer than had been thought, which could leave people drowsy the next day. So the Food and Drug Administration is ordering pharmaceutical companies to change the labeling on drugs containing the ingredient zolpidem.

Wake-Up Call: FDA Pushes Drugmakers To Weaken Sleeping Pills

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Tuesday December 11, 2012

How A Health Insurer's Overpayment Can Become Your Problem

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How A Health Insurer's Overpayment Can Become Your Problem

KFF Health News

December 11, 2012 • Health insurers sometimes pay too much to a doctor or hospital for services rendered. When insurers look to get their money back, patients may be surprised to get stuck with the bills.

Wednesday November 21, 2012

Patients With Online Access To Doctors May Make More Office Visits

New research suggests that doctors who communicate online with their patients may not see a drop in office visits. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Patients With Online Access To Doctors May Make More Office Visits

CPR News

November 21, 2012 • Previous research has found that patients with online access to their doctors made fewer trips to the doctor's office. But a large, just-published study shows just the opposite: Patients who can email their physicians may schedule more visits.

Patients With Online Access To Doctors May Make More Office Visits

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Thursday November 8, 2012

Hospitals Gamble On Urgent Care Clinics To Keep Patients Healthy

Dr. Wanda Simmons-Clemmons examines Dawn Antonelli at the PromptCare urgent care clinic. Jenny Gold for NPR hide caption

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Jenny Gold for NPR

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Hospitals Gamble On Urgent Care Clinics To Keep Patients Healthy

KFF Health News

November 8, 2012 • Urgent care clinics are part of a growth strategy for some hospital chains. But some analysts wonder if hospitals will be able to provide good customer service at the clinics.

Hospitals Gamble On Urgent Care Clinics To Keep Patients Healthy

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Tuesday September 25, 2012

Insurance Picks At Work Will Cost You More

It will take a bigger money pile to pay for your health insurance again. Andrei Tchernov/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Andrei Tchernov/iStockphoto.com

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Insurance Picks At Work Will Cost You More

KFF Health News

September 25, 2012 • Health premiums are going up for 2013, though not quite as much as in 2012. Even so, the tab will likely be bigger for most people who get health coverage at work. Employers are asking workers to shoulder a bigger portion of the costs.

Tuesday September 18, 2012

Nursing Homes' Arbitration Agreements Can Contain Hidden Risks

The agreements offered by many nursing homes can result in higher fees and smaller awards in the case of a dispute. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Nursing Homes' Arbitration Agreements Can Contain Hidden Risks

KFF Health News

September 18, 2012 • Consumer advocates say people who sign the agreements pay higher fees and may get smaller awards than they would if the case were to go to court.

Wednesday September 12, 2012

How Cheap Can Lipitor Get? Try Free

Generic versions of Lipitor, like these made by Watson Pharmaceuticals, are now free at some retailers, as long as you have a prescription. Bill Gallery/AP hide caption

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Bill Gallery/AP

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How Cheap Can Lipitor Get? Try Free

September 12, 2012 • Some grocery chains are now offering free atorvastatin, the generic version of Lipitor, at their pharmacies. The cholesterol drug requires a prescription, but now you don't need insurance or cash to get the pills.

Tuesday September 11, 2012

Insurance Costs Rise, But More Slowly

Heath coverage will cost you more than last year, but not as much as it might have. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Insurance Costs Rise, But More Slowly

September 11, 2012 • Annual family health insurance premiums rose about 4 percent to an average of $15,745 this year, a new survey finds. While the increase is less than the one seen last year, it exceeds both inflation and wage gains.

Wednesday September 5, 2012

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Insurer's Files Show Big Cost Differences For Same Illnesses

KFF Health News

September 5, 2012 • Some of the cost variations from a UnitedHealthcare database are startling. For treating a basic asthma episode, cases in the 10th percentile of distribution cost $98 each while those in the 90th percentile the cost was $1,535 per case.

Tuesday August 21, 2012

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Hospitals Gripe About Health Insurers, Too

KFF Health News

August 21, 2012 • WellPoint ranked last in overall favorability and in the "dealing with hospitals" category. Cigna was No. 1 in overall favorability while Aetna scored best in the dealing with hospitals category.

Health Law Gives Medicare Fraud Fighters New Weapons

With help from the Affordable Care Act, government fraud investigators will make more use of computer programs to detect Medicare and Medicaid scams. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Health Law Gives Medicare Fraud Fighters New Weapons

KFF Health News

August 21, 2012 • Criminals who defraud public health care programs to the tune of billions of dollars a year are now up against sophisticated computer systems designed to catch them. But the new efforts may yield far more leads than the current team of investigators and analysts can handle.

Health Law Gives Medicare Fraud Fighters New Weapons

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Monday August 20, 2012

Search For Parkinson's Genes Turns To Online Social Networking

Submitting a DNA sample to networking company 23andMe entails spitting a saliva sample into a plastic vial. 23andMe hide caption

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23andMe

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Search For Parkinson's Genes Turns To Online Social Networking

August 20, 2012 • For a few hundred dollars and a vial of spit, a growing number of companies will search your DNA to try to predict your disease risks. One of them hopes to mine their data to find out which genes are linked to Parkinson's disease.

Search For Parkinson's Genes Turns To Online Social Networking

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Friday August 10, 2012

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Yoga On Commission: More Employers Pay For Good Health Habits

August 10, 2012 • Though more employers are encouraged to offer health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, bad employee health habits, like poor diet and smoking, are causing health care costs to skyrocket. To combat this expensive trend, many employers are using cash to encourage better health.

Thursday July 26, 2012

Feds And Health Insurers Partner To Fight Fraud

Insurers and the federal government are teaming up to fight health fraud. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Feds And Health Insurers Partner To Fight Fraud

July 26, 2012 • The idea behind the partnership is to share the best ideas of law enforcement, government and industry on things like identifying patterns of suspicious claims, data mining and even catching simultaneous claims for the same patient in different cities.

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