Aetna was the first insurer to announce its plan to help shield patients with COVID-19 from high medical bills. But out-of-network charges and other surprise bills remain a risk, say advocates for patients. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
After an initial verbal screening, one driver at a time gets a COVID-19 nasal swab test from a garbed health worker at a drive-up station in Daly City, Calif. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
Mary Mills, longtime intensive care nurse, feels the response to coronavirus at her Seattle hospital has been haphazard. She worries the growing number of patients will overwhelm the ICUs in the coming days. Will Stone/for NPR hide caption
Drive-through screening stations are opening up in several parts of the country as testing capacity starts to expand nationally. At one station in Meridian, Idaho, nurse Ashley Layton communicates with a patient before taking a swab sample. Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images hide caption
Medical personnel use specialized swabs to gather samples to test for coronavirus, such as at this drive-through COVID-19 testing station in Seattle. The supply of these swabs is getting tight. Elaine Thompson/AP hide caption
Until very recently, the separate company that runs the emergency department at Nashville General Hospital was continuing to haul patients who couldn't pay medical bills into court. Blake Farmer/WPLN hide caption
Lobbying by physicians and physicians' professional associations has influenced proposed legislation to curtail surprise billing. Hannah Norman/Kaiser Health News hide caption
Some people land in the hospital over and over. Although research suggests that giving those patients extra follow-up care from nurses and social workers won't reduce those extra hospital visits, some hospitals say the approach still saves them money in the long run. Oivind Hovland/Ikon Images/Getty Images hide caption
Generics may not have the same cost-lowering power for specialty medicines, such as multiple sclerosis drugs, researchers find. That's true especially when other brand-name drugs are approved to treat a given disease before the first generic is approved. Gary Waters/Ikon Images/Getty Images hide caption
The Food And Drug Administration reviews new drugs for approval much faster than it used to, but changes in the agency's standards have drawn questions. Michael J. Ermarth/FDA hide caption
Dr. John Dunlap runs a direct primary care practice in Overland Park, Kan., offering patients direct access to him by phone and longer appointment times. The model is similar to concierge medicine. Barrett Emke for NPR hide caption
Martin Shkreli, former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, appeared before the House Oversight Committee during a contentious hearing on drug pricing on Feb. 4, 2016. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption
An image of Ow Luen from his file, originally held at the USCIS, now available at the National Archives. Grant Din/National Archives hide caption