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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

A Doctor's 9 Predictions About The 'Obamacare Era'

Health care delivery is expected to change, with more care provided by nurse practitioners and fewer people having a doctor for life. Images.com/Corbis hide caption

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Images.com/Corbis

Health Inc.

A Doctor's 9 Predictions About The 'Obamacare Era'

The traditional doctor-patient relationship in which a single doctor gets to know you over years will become a luxury. Those who want a personal physician will have to pay extra for that service. Doctors who chafe at working for big organizations will opt out and charge patients retainer fees.

How A Tax On Medical Devices United Political Rivals

U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (center) and colleagues gather before a Sunday vote on Capitol Hill. The House passed two new provisions to a federal spending bill to delay Obamacare for a year and to repeal the medical device tax. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Health Inc.

How A Tax On Medical Devices United Political Rivals

About $29 billion in funding for the expansion of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act is expected to come from a tax on devices. Hip implants, MRI scanners and catheters to unclog heart arteries are all affected. Toothbrushes, contact lenses, hearing aids and other consumer products are exempt.

Friday

Lessons About Insurance In The Obamacare Data Dump

Chicago insurance broker Sean Whaley told The Associated Press earlier this month that his self-employed clients were frustrated that didn't have the information to plan ahead for their families' health care costs in 2014. M. Spencer Green/AP hide caption

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M. Spencer Green/AP

Health Inc.

Lessons About Insurance In The Obamacare Data Dump

KFF Health News

Very few insurers around the country are offering top-of-the-line platinum insurance plans. Policymakers predicted less expensive but more restrictive bronze and silver plans would prove more popular than high-end options, and it looks like insurance companies think so, too.

Thursday

Employers Trim Health Costs By Cutting Coverage For Spouses

Workers prepare orders to be loaded for shipment at a UPS Healthcare Supply Chain and Distribution Center in Atlanta on March 12. The company recently announced that it would no longer offer coverage for spouses who had their own job-based insurance. Robin Nelson/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Robin Nelson/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Health Inc.

Employers Trim Health Costs By Cutting Coverage For Spouses

As health costs keep rising, many firms are trying to run their benefits programs as leanly as possible. For some, that means not paying the claims of spouses who work for other companies. It costs more to insure the typical spouse than the typical employee, one analyst says.

Employers Trim Health Costs By Cutting Coverage For Spouses

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Tuesday

For-Profit Online Insurance Brokers Gear Up To Sell Obamacare

Workers at the eHealth call center outside Sacramento, Calif., get ready to sell health insurance through the marketplaces created under the federal health care law. Sales start Oct. 1. eHealth Inc. hide caption

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eHealth Inc.

Health Inc.

For-Profit Online Insurance Brokers Gear Up To Sell Obamacare

For online insurance brokers, selling health insurance through the Affordable Care Act presents a new opportunity — and a new competitor. It's unclear who will come out ahead: the businesses, with more experience, or the feds, who won't charge commissions.

For-Profit Online Insurance Brokers Gear Up To Sell Obamacare

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Wednesday

For Hospital Patients, Observation Status Can Prove Costly

The next bed could cost you a lot if the hospital says you're there on observation. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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For Hospital Patients, Observation Status Can Prove Costly

When is an inpatient in the hospital not an inpatient in the hospital? When that patient is on observation status. Patients who are termed on observation can have trouble getting Medicare to pay if they need to go to a nursing home. The practice has sparked lawsuits and legislation.

For Hospital Patients, Observation Status Can Prove Costly

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Friday

Money May Be Motivating Doctors To Do More C-Sections

Pregnant doctors are less likely than other women to deliver their babies via C-section, recent research suggests. Economists say that may be because the physician patients feel more empowered to question the obstetrician. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Health Inc.

Money May Be Motivating Doctors To Do More C-Sections

Many obstetricians make more money for C-sections than for vaginal deliveries. In a recent study, these doctors were more likely to perform the costly procedure than doctors paid a flat salary. But when the pregnant women were also physicians, doctors seemed less swayed by financial incentives.

Money May Be Motivating Doctors To Do More C-Sections

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Wednesday

Tuesday

Fla. Balks At Insurance Navigators As Obamacare Deadline Nears

The federal government has awarded about $67 million in grants to groups around the country that will help people shop for health coverage. But Florida Gov. Rick Scott says the guidelines for these so-called navigators are inadequate. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Health Inc.

Fla. Balks At Insurance Navigators As Obamacare Deadline Nears

Gov. Rick Scott has built a political career fighting the president's health overhaul — and he's not through yet. He's joining other Republicans in opposition to people called navigators, who are being hired to help enroll the public in health plans.

Fla. Balks At Insurance Navigators As Obamacare Deadline Nears

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Wednesday

Tuesday

Medical Discount Plan In Nevada Skips Insurers

Mounting medical debt and struggles with insurers led Shelley Toreson to drop her health insurance. She now pays discounted rates upfront for her medical needs. Pauline Bartolone/Capital Public Radio hide caption

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Pauline Bartolone/Capital Public Radio

Health Inc.

Medical Discount Plan In Nevada Skips Insurers

CapRadio News

Members of the Access to Healthcare Network in Reno, Nev., get discounts on health services. But first, they pay a monthly membership fee. They also agree to pay their medical bills to providers upfront.

Medical Discount Plan In Nevada Skips Insurers

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Patients Can Pay A High Price For ER Convenience

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Health Inc.

Patients Can Pay A High Price For ER Convenience

KUHF

Free-standing emergency rooms, separate from hospitals, are popping up across the country. Many look like urgent-care centers, but the ERs charge much more. Many consumers don't realize the difference until they get the bill.

Patients Can Pay A High Price For ER Convenience

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Friday

Thursday

Obamacare Foes Make Final Push To Stop Health Law's Implementation

A screenshot from the FreedomWorks website, which is urging citizens opposed to the Affordable Care Act to opt out of the law's requirement to have insurance. It asks Americans to symbolically "burn your Obamacare card." In reality, no such card will exist. FreedomWorks hide caption

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FreedomWorks

Health Inc.

Obamacare Foes Make Final Push To Stop Health Law's Implementation

Less than eight weeks before the official launch of the new health care marketplaces, the Obama administration is ramping up efforts to encourage people to sign up. But some opponents want young people to pay a fine rather than sign up for health insurance, hoping to harm the new law.

Obamacare Foes Make Final Push To Stop Health Law's Implementation

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