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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

Shots

Health News From NPR

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Monday

Friday

How Fraud Flourishes Unchecked In Medicare's Drug Plan

Dr. Ernest Bagner III stands outside his former office tucked in the back corner of a strip mall in Hollywood, Calif., where he says he was the victim of Medicare fraud. Jonathan Alcorn/ProPublica hide caption

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Jonathan Alcorn/ProPublica

Health Inc.

How Fraud Flourishes Unchecked In Medicare's Drug Plan

ProPublica

Credit card companies routinely flag or block suspicious charges as they happen. Yet under Medicare, a convoluted and poorly managed system for catching fraud allows costly scams for prescription drugs to slide by. The federal government has done little to stop the fraud, an investigation by ProPublica found.

How Fraud Flourishes Unchecked In Medicare's Drug Plan

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Tuesday

Why Glaxo Won't Pay Doctors To Sell Its Drugs Anymore

British pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline is pledging to revamp its relationships with doctors. Sang Tan/AP hide caption

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Sang Tan/AP

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Why Glaxo Won't Pay Doctors To Sell Its Drugs Anymore

Drugmakers learned long ago that deputized doctors are effective pitchmen. A doctor's dinner speech or chat over lunch with colleagues can go a long way toward changing his or her colleagues' prescribing habits. But increasing scrutiny has led to a reconsideration of the practice.

Tuesday

Don't Count On Insurance To Pay For Genetic Tests

After genetic testing revealed a heightened risk for breast cancer, Angelina Jolie had a precautionary double mastectomy. Alastair Grant/AP hide caption

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Alastair Grant/AP

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Don't Count On Insurance To Pay For Genetic Tests

KFF Health News

After Angelina Jolie announced she has a genetic variant that raises her risk of breast cancer, many women asked their doctors for the test. Insurers will pay for tests only if there's a clear indication that it would help shape medical care. That's often not the case.

Monday

To Curb Costs, New California Health Plans Trim Care Choices

Susan Shargel, an insurance broker in San Francisco, says she's seeing health insurance plans offer fewer doctor and hospital options. Pauline Bartolone hide caption

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Pauline Bartolone

Health Inc.

To Curb Costs, New California Health Plans Trim Care Choices

CapRadio News

Insurers are holding down prices by including fewer doctors and hospitals in their health plans. Consumers may save money, but at the cost of more restrictions on where they can get medical care that is covered.

To Curb Costs, New California Health Plans Trim Care Choices

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New York's Insurance Exchange Readies For Holiday Rush

Joey Cappuccitti, who works at a Maximus call center, talks with a person looking for help with New York's insurance exchange. Fred Mogul hide caption

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Fred Mogul

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New York's Insurance Exchange Readies For Holiday Rush

WNYC

As a Dec. 23 enrollment deadline for health insurance that starts Jan. 1 looms, New York state is staffing up its call center and smoothing out the rough spots on its application to meet growing demand. As time runs down, the state is trying to fix technical and design issues that came up when the site debuted in October.

New York's Insurance Exchange Readies For Holiday Rush

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Friday

Canceled In California: People Eye Health Plans Off Exchange

Shoppers get ready to pay at Costco Wholesale in Mountain View, Calif. For the next couple of weeks, Californians whose insurance was canceled have some unusual options, including an Aetna plan available only at Costco. Paul Sakuma/AP hide caption

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Paul Sakuma/AP

Health Inc.

Canceled In California: People Eye Health Plans Off Exchange

KFF Health News

Some Californians are choosing plans that don't comply with the Affordable Care Act to save money. They have only a few weeks left to pick coverage that will last a year. It will eventually be replaced by health insurance that includes a full range of essential benefits, but at a higher cost.

Wednesday

To Changing Landscape, Add Private Health Care Exchanges
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To Changing Landscape, Add Private Health Care Exchanges

While our attention has been focused on Obamacare, there are rumblings of a major shift in the way companies offer private health insurance to workers. It involves what are called "private health care exchanges." These are similar to — but completely separate from — the public exchanges you've heard so much about.

To Changing Landscape, Add Private Health Care Exchanges

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Monday

First Estimate On Insurance Sign-Ups Is Pretty Darned Small

Mario Ricart , an insurance agent with Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, talks with Naylie Villa about buying insurance under the Affordable Care Act on Nov. 5 in Miami. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Health Inc.

First Estimate On Insurance Sign-Ups Is Pretty Darned Small

There's been a lot of speculation about how many people have signed up for Affordable Care Act insurance. The official number will be reported at the end of the week. But unofficial estimates are leaking out, including 50,000 reported today. That's far less than the 500,000 that the administration originally predicted.

$4.2 Billion Deal Highlights Drug Profits From Rare Diseases

Flemming Ornskov, CEO of Shire, says the company's offer for ViroPharma is part of a broader push into orphan drugs. Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Bloomberg via Getty Images

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$4.2 Billion Deal Highlights Drug Profits From Rare Diseases

Shire's purchase of ViroPharma is all about a medicine to prevent life-threatening swelling attacks caused by a genetic mutation. The drug, called Cinryze, costs more than $4,600 for each treatment. The annual bill can run hundreds of thousands of dollars for each patient.

Tuesday

In Colorado, A Couple Finds Relief In Obamacare

Lela Petersen, owner of the Anything And Everything store in Flagler, Colo., expects the cost of health insurance for her and her husband to drop by my more than half next year. Jeff Brady hide caption

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Jeff Brady

Health Inc.

In Colorado, A Couple Finds Relief In Obamacare

A small business owner and her husband expect to save big on health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Their monthly health insurance bill will drop by more than half once the policy they're buying on the Colorado health exchange takes effect.

In Colorado, A Couple Finds Relief In Obamacare

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Call Centers Got Big Deals Under Health Law, But How Big?

Do you have questions about the bronze plan? iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

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Call Centers Got Big Deals Under Health Law, But How Big?

WNPR

States have spent big on setting up their health insurance exchanges. But figuring out where the money is going can be difficult because some states don't release the information. The contractor running Connecticut's marketplace call center hasn't had to reveal pricing.

Call Centers Got Big Deals Under Health Law, But How Big?

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Tuesday

Tuesday

Online Insurance Brokers Stymied Selling Obamacare Policies

Independent online insurance brokers, like eHealth, haven't yet been able to sell subsidized health insurance policies. eHealthInsurance.com hide caption

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eHealthInsurance.com

Health Inc.

Online Insurance Brokers Stymied Selling Obamacare Policies

Many independent health insurance brokers were supposed to be able to sell subsidized health care plans starting Oct. 1. But complications with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act have derailed the plan, and the federal government hasn't said when the problems will be fixed.

Online Insurance Brokers Stymied Selling Obamacare Policies

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Wednesday

Hitches On Health Exchanges Hinder Launch Of Insurance Co-op

Maryland's Evergreen Health Co-op will eventually be owned by its policyholders. For now, the co-op is scrambling to find customers after the state's online health exchange got off to a rocky start. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

Health Inc.

Hitches On Health Exchanges Hinder Launch Of Insurance Co-op

KFF Health News

Maryland-based Evergreen Health Co-op is one of nearly two dozen nonprofit insurers created by the health act. They will be owned by the policyholders and are supposed to add competition and lower prices for coverage. they're supposed to add competition and lower prices for medical coverage. But they can't do either without customers.