msnbc.com: Health care

'Individual mandate' key to universal health coverage

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 21:42:07 GMT

Why has the topic of the uninsured loomed so large in the current debate? One reason, economists say, is that enrolling the healthy uninsured can improve insurance risk pooling and may control costs over time.

Judge denies bail for Colo. hospital worker

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 22:14:01 GMT

A judge denied bail for a surgery technician accused of swapping out her dirty syringes for ones filled with a painkiller meant for patients — even though she knew she had hepatitis C.

Dems edge away from health care deadline

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 22:44:50 GMT

Senate Democrats edged away Wednesday from their goal of passing ambitious health care legislation by early August amid heightening partisan controversy.

Survey: Americans worried about cancer costs

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 14:46:56 GMT

Fewer than half of all Americans trust that their health insurance plans would pay for the full costs of cancer treatment, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Paperless health care? A hospital's long journey

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 19:56:45 GMT

In the new all-digital Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, doctors click on a computer that rolls to each patient's side to see complete records. Welcome to the eerily paperless hospital of the future.

Doctors look to profit from ‘no insurance’ clinic

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 17:33:51 GMT

A Seattle clinic for people fed up with insurance, started by doctors fed up with insurance, has gotten $4 million in private venture capital money to expand.

Advocates are back with real health care stories

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 21:27:24 GMT

Thousands of people are now telling their stories on videos, ads and Web sites on both sides of the health care debate.

Obama health czar led companies in trouble

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 03:22:22 GMT

Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Barack Obama’s health policy czar, served as a director of corporations that faced scores of federal investigations, whistleblower lawsuits and other regulatory actions, according to government records reviewed by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University.

Obama pitches health plan, hugs cancer patient

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 00:46:00 GMT

President Barack Obama wanted to put a human face on his plans to overhaul health care, and a Virginia supporter did just that Wednesday.

CDC: Private health coverage at 50-year low

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 23:35:42 GMT

The percentage of Americans who don't have private health insurance has hit its lowest mark in 50 years, according to two new government reports.

Health overhaul means big Medicare changes

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:07:10 GMT

If you're not a Medicare recipient, your parents probably are, or soon will be. And you yourself will be on Medicare eventually. That’s a reason to pay attention as Congress debates an overhaul of health insurance.

Best treatments? Government aims to find out

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:26:37 GMT

Irregular heartbeat. Prostate cancer. Back pain. Hearing loss. The government is about to spend millions to try to uncover the best treatments for scores of ailments.

Madoff aftermath cuts funds for the vulnerable

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:51:50 GMT

As Bernard Madoff is sentenced to life in prison, health agencies that rely on philanthropy say the fallout has affected care for people who never gave the self-confessed con man a dime.

Doc at center of VA cancer probe admits errors

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:04:28 GMT

A radiation oncologist fighting accusations he botched dozens of prostate surgeries at a Veterans Administration hospital admitted he sometimes missed his target.

Newsweek: One senator's plan to save health care

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:11:03 GMT

Sen. Kent Conrad has come up with an idea to get around objections to a government-sponsored option by proposing health insurance co-ops that would be non-profit and run by members.

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Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:11:03 GMT

Details, schmetails: Think big on health care

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:45:42 GMT

As the debate over health care reform heats up, critics say overhauling U.S. health care can’t work because reform is “all in the details.” But in this case, success is not in the details.

Is a 'public plan' the fix for health insurance?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:52:25 GMT

Two words — public plan — now dominate the debate over how to overhaul the nation’s health insurance system. Would you and your family be better off if there were such a government-sponsored rival to private insurers?

No relief: Shortage keeps older docs on the job

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:09:33 GMT

In Everson, Wash., and across the country, aging physicians like Dr. Kenneth H. Spady, 81, are finding they can’t retire because of a growing shortage of primary care doctors.

Few health prevention efforts save money

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:42:37 GMT

Shockingly few prevention efforts actually save the health care system money overall, despite claims by the president and some in Congress.

Newsweek: Pastors sell health care reform to faithful

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:41:32 GMT

As religious leaders increasingly engage in the health care conversation, two aspects of this new faith-and-politics marriage are worrisome. The first is that proximity to power can be corrupting. The second is whether health-care reform is the right vehicle for a full-scale social-justice campaign.

How Congress failed to curb medical spending

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:12:03 GMT

In the 1997 balanced budget law, Congress thought it was going to control the future growth of Medicare spending. That plan didn't work out — and there are lessons in this episode for health care reformers.

Proposed Medicare cuts prompt grumbles

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:23:48 GMT

Physicians and industry accuse President Obama of denying patients the lifesaving tools they need.

Tax on health care benefits advances

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:18:20 GMT

President Barack Obama left the door open to a new tax on health care benefits Wednesday, as top lawmakers and the White House sought support for health care reform legislation.

Obama takes on insurers over health plan

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:37:52 GMT

President Barack Obama squares off with the insurance lobby over industry charges that a government health plan he backs would dismantle the employer coverage Americans rely on.

Study: Americans struggle to pay for health care

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:14:42 GMT

Americans are struggling to pay for health care in the ongoing economic recession, with a quarter saying they have had trouble in the past 12 months, according to a survey.

Dems may go it alone on gov't insurance plan

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:37:25 GMT

Democrats are becoming bolder about the idea of middle-class familes joining a government insurance plan in an overhaul of the health care system. However, their fervor carries a risk.

More may not be better in health care

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:22:36 GMT

A central issue in the debate over health care overhaul rests on an intriguing finding by researchers: spending more for care doesn't produce better care.

Democrats worry health plan lacks votes

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:30:23 GMT

President Barack Obama's proposal to provide health care coverage for some 50 million Americans who lack it has become a contentious point for lawmakers struggling to reach a consensus.

NYT: At VA hospital, a rogue cancer unit

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:49:39 GMT

A rogue cancer unit at the veterans’ hospital in Philadelphia botched 92 of 116 cancer treatments over a span of more than six years — and then kept quiet about it.

Obama's health plan: An empty promise?

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:10:22 GMT

President Obama sounds reassuring when he promises his health care plan will let people keep their coverage, but no president could guarantee such a pledge.

Interactive map: Health care costs vary widely across U.S.

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:48:29 GMT

Dartmouth's atlas of health care costs demonstrates a vexing issue facing policymakers: Medicare spends vastly different amounts to care for its enrollees depending on where they live, and growth rates vary dramatically across states and localities.

What does health care reform mean to me?

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:35:39 GMT

With the Democratic-controlled Congress working on a potentially sweeping health care overhaul, questions abound for consumers, including whether they might have to change their insurance or buy coverage if they don’t have it.

Decoding the health care debate — a glossary

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:46:11 GMT

From 'bending the cost curve' to 'uncompensated care,' here's your guide to the buzz words that you'll need to know to follow the debate over overhauling health insurance.