archive
Planet Money
Planet Money And This American Life On Health Care In America
June 28, 2012 Planet Money and This American Life tried to figure out why health care costs keep rising, and how health insurance works (and doesn't work).
Planet Money
What Air Traffic Can Teach Us About Kidney Transplants
May 30, 2012 Researchers who study air traffic may have come up with a better way to allocate organs. The key is balancing fairness and efficiency.
Planet Money
Who Decides Whether This 26-Year-Old Woman Gets A Lung Transplant?
May 29, 2012 Ashley Dias needs lungs. So do lots of other patients. Scarcity is a problem with organ transplants, and, unlike other scarce resources, organs can't be bought or sold. Here's how doctors decide who gets to be at the top of the waiting list.
Shots - Health News
By Putting Patients First, Hospital Tries To Make Care More Personal
May 23, 2012 Fauquier Hospital in Warrenton, Va., offers services not usually found in your average hospital. Not only is every one of its patient rooms a private one, it offers food cooked and delivered to order, and hand massages. But experts say it's the actual involvement of patients and families in their own care that sets it apart.
Shots - Health News
Poll: What It's Like To Be Sick In America
May 21, 2012 Three out of four people who've been sick in the past year said cost is a very serious problem, and half said quality is a very serious problem. Those are among the striking findings from the latest survey on health from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.
Shots - Health News
Your Stories Of Being Sick Inside The U.S. Health Care System
May 21, 2012 Our call-out on Facebook for people to share their experiences of the health care system yielded close to 1,000 responses. From Oregon to Florida, respondents told wrenching tales of bankruptcies, medical errors, and treatment delayed or foregone because of cost.
Planet Money
50 Years Of Government Spending, In 1 Graph
May 14, 2012 Of each dollar the federal government spends, how much goes to health care? How much goes to defense? How much goes to other programs? And how has spending changed over time?
Shots - Health News
Cancer Doc Brawley Says The U.S. Health Care System Is Sick
April 23, 2012 Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, gave a fiery speech at annual meeting of Association of Health Care Journalists over the weekend. It was a no-holds-barred critique of the U.S. system of health care.
Shots - Health News
With Cancer Care, The U.S. Spends More, But Gets More
April 9, 2012 Cancer care costs more in the U.S., but people live longer than they do in European countries, according to new research. But the numbers are 10 years old, and it will take more research to know if today's increased spending is worth it.
The Two-Way
At Supreme Court: Health Care Ruling Still Too Close To Call?
March 27, 2012 On Day 2 of the sessions about the constitutionality of the health care overhaul, there were many tough questions for the government's lawyer. But it wasn't absolutely clear where the majority will come down, NPR's Nina Totenberg says.
Shots - Health News
Insurers Are Grumpy Over Booming Sleep Apnea Business
January 16, 2012 KHNSleep apnea is a condition that can raise the risk of several serious illnesses, including heart disease. Testing for the condition is a lucrative business, and sleep labs have sprung up across the country. But as spending skyrockets, insurers are rethinking how they pay for testing to curb costs.
