Austin's Ascension Seton Medical Center is among the hospitals affected by a nationwide cybersecurity breach of Ascension technology systems. Julia Reihs/KUT News hide caption
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 NPRHealth Inc.
Miguel Divo shows his patient, Joel Rubinstein, a dry powder inhaler. It's an alternative to some puff inhalers that emit potent greenhouse gases, but is equally effective for many patients with asthma. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
Instructions for a fingernail filing gadget for infants says, "Stay away from children." It's enough to make a new parent holler. Thanasis Zovoilis/Getty Images hide caption
Siblings may not be obvious fodder for the therapist's office, but experts say maybe they should be. "People just don't perceive those relationships as needing the type of attention and tending one might bring to a spouse or child," says Kelly Scott of Tribeca Therapy in New York. Lily Padula for NPR hide caption
All grown up, but still fighting? Why more siblings are turning to therapy, together
Drug companies often do one-on-one outreach to doctors. A new study finds these meetings with drug reps lead to more prescriptions for cancer patients, but not longer survival. Chris Hondros/Getty Images hide caption
The U.S. is the most lucrative market for drugmakers, but they often pay more in taxes overseas. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Kevin Carlson, with nurse Joshua Lee (right) and respiratory therapist Eric Mathewson (left), watches a WWE match on October 2, 2023 in San Jose, Calif. Gabriel Torres hide caption
For patients with disabilities, this doctor prioritizes independence — and fun
Miriam McDonald spends time with her 4-year-old son, Nico. McDonald struggled to get care for postpartum depression at Kaiser Permanente, an experience that would eventually lead to significant policy changes by the health care provider. Keith McDonald hide caption
Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs online pharmacy is adding the oral contraceptive Yaz from Bayer to its list of discounted medicines. studiostockart/Getty Images hide caption
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, pressed executives from Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck and Johnson & Johnson about the prices they charge for drugs in the U.S. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption
Chantal Panozzo and her husband, who live in the Chicago suburbs, expected their first routine colonoscopies would be free — fully covered by insurance as preventive care under federal law. Taylor Glascock/KFF Health News hide caption
The colonoscopies were free but the 'surgical trays' came with $600 price tags
Cook County board president Toni Preckwinkle (center) announces the county's debt relief program, along with executives from several local hospitals and Allison Sesso, President & CEO of RIP Medical Debt (far left). Cook County, Ill. hide caption
A growing wave of local governments are erasing billions in medical debts
McAlester Regional Health Center's administrative offices in McAlester, Oklahoma. Mitchell Black for KFF Health News hide caption
Drug price hikes appear to be moderate this year, with some drug prices falling. Elise Amendola/AP hide caption
The Food And Drug Administration has given its OK to Florida's plan to import some prescription drugs from Canada. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images hide caption
The former Akorn pharmaceutical plant in Decatur, Ill., that made a wide range of generic drugs used in hospitals is being reopened under new ownership. Emilija Manevska/Getty Images hide caption
How rock-bottom prices drive shortages of generic drugs used in hospitals
Americans with mental health conditions often can't get treatment, a new report finds. SDI Productions/Getty Images hide caption
Anne Sansevero discusses a client with one of her nurses, Beau Romero. Sansevero has seven employees in her growing private care management business in New York City. Ashley Milne-Tyte/for NPR hide caption
These pros help keep ailing, aging loved ones safe — but it's a costly service
Design strategist Anna Engstrom created this sketch of a futuristic hospital that appears in Artists Remaking Medicine. She writes that she envisions "a more colorful health care future." Anna Engstrom/Procedure Press hide caption
Kayce Atencio, who has been shadowed by medical debt for most of his adult life, had been unable to rent an apartment because of poor credit due to medical debt, he said. Recent reporting changes by credit rating agencies have removed many debts from consumer credit reports and lifted scores for millions, a new study finds. Rachel Woolf for KFF Health News hide caption
Angels for Change founder Laura Bray took on the problem of drug shortages when the hospital ran out of the drug that her then-9-year-old daughter needed to treat her leukemia. Laura Bray hide caption
The hospital ran out of her child's cancer drug. Now she's fighting to end shortages
Open enrollment for Medicare begins Sunday and ads like this billboard inside California's John Wayne Airport are popping up. Marketing of Medicare plans is subject to new, stricter federal regulations this year. Leslie Walker/Tradeoffs hide caption