After knee surgery, David Larson, 66, of Huntington Beach, Calif., experienced pain in a calf muscle. His answer to an automated email from the doctor led to the diagnosis and treatment of a potentially dangerous blood clot. Heidi de Marco/Kaiser Health News hide caption
A pharmacist counts pain pills. In an effort to curb the abuse of Oxycontin, Vicodin and other opioid painkillers, some health plans in Massachusetts now limit a patient's initial prescription to a 15-day supply, and plan to halve that number in February. Gabe Souza/Getty Images hide caption
The effects of opioid abuse can go unnoticed at work. George Doyle/Getty Images hide caption
Dave Manning (left) and three other veterans who are studying to become physician assistants at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Brian Strickland / News.UNCHealthcare.org hide caption
If your insurer waived the fee to see your primary care doctor, would you go more often? Getty Images/Hero Images hide caption
Seanne Thomas manages three health insurance plans for people in her family. Mark Zdechlik/MPR hide caption
Going to an out-of-network emergency room can be costly. Harry Sieplinga/Getty Images hide caption
Nurse practitioner Rachelle Quimpo begins an ear exam on Shreya Sasaki at a Kaiser Permanente health clinic inside a Target retail department store in San Diego, Calif., as Dr. Heidi Meyer watches via video. Kaiser says it will train medical students to provide good care beyond traditional medical settings. Mike Blake/Reuters/Landov hide caption
Martha Lucia (from left), Bienvendida Barreno and Jorge Baquero discuss health insurance options with agents from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors at a Miami mall last month. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy unveiled his budget to the legislature last February, but the year's expenditures were greater than income. Connecticut's leaders voted to cut hospital funding to help close the gap. Jessica Hill/AP hide caption
A recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Medicare recipients taking Revlimid for cancer could end up paying, on average, $11,538 out of pocket for the drug in 2016, even if the medicine is covered by their Medicare Part D plan. Carmine Galasso/MCT/Landov hide caption
