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Alison Kodjak Alison Fitzgerald Kodjak is a health policy correspondent on NPR's Science Desk.
Alison Kodjak, photographed for NPR, 17 January 2019, in Washington DC.
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Alison Kodjak

Mylan CEO Claims EpiPens Aren't As Profitable As Everyone Thinks

Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan Pharmacueticals, will face lawmakers' questions Wednesday about the company's steep price hikes for the company's life-saving EpiPen auto-injector. Dale Sparks/AP hide caption

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Dale Sparks/AP

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Mylan CEO Claims EpiPens Aren't As Profitable As Everyone Thinks

In testimony prepared for a congressional hearing, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch says the company makes about $50 in profit on each EpiPen. Analysts say it's still a hefty margin.

Mylan CEO Claims EpiPens Aren't As Profitable As Everyone Thinks

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Employees Are Paying A Bigger Chunk Of Health Insurance Costs
John Labbe/Getty Images

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Employees Are Paying A Bigger Chunk Of Health Insurance Costs

Bosses are passing more of the cost of health insurance on to workers in an effort to keep spending under control. But that can be unfair to lower-income employees, who pay disproportionately more.

Employees Are Paying A Bigger Chunk Of Health Insurance Costs

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A Good Dentist Is Hard To Find In Rural America
Michelle Kondrich for NPR

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A Good Dentist Is Hard To Find In Rural America

A Wisconsin clinic provides free dental care so that poor rural residents can get their teeth fixed. But in most states people aren't so lucky. Millions of people have no access to dental care.

A Good Dentist Is Hard To Find In Rural America

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Health

Desperate Mother's Call Leads To Wis. Dental Clinics That Treat Rural Poor

What if you had cavities and gum disease and couldn't find a dentist to treat you? That's the reality for millions of poor people who live in rural areas and have little or no access to dental care.

Desperate Mother's Call Leads To Wis. Dental Clinics That Treat Rural Poor

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FDA Bans 19 Chemicals Used In Antibacterial Soaps

The FDA says there's no evidence that antibacterial soaps do a better job cleaning hands, and chemicals in them may pose health hazards. The FDA ban applies only to consumer products, not those used in hospitals and food service settings. Mike Kemp/Blend Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Mike Kemp/Blend Images/Getty Images

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FDA Bans 19 Chemicals Used In Antibacterial Soaps

Manufacturers didn't provide data showing the chemicals are safe and effective, the FDA says. It says there's no evidence that they do a better job at preventing illness than plain soap and water.

POLL: Most Americans Want Congress To Make Zika Funding A High Priority

County mosquito control inspector Yasser "Jazz" Compagines sprays a storm drain in Miami Beach to thwart mosquitoes that spread Zika. Alan Diaz/AP hide caption

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Alan Diaz/AP

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POLL: Most Americans Want Congress To Make Zika Funding A High Priority

That's what 76 percent said in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey. Half the respondents also said they'd be uncomfortable traveling to places in Florida where mosquitoes are spreading Zika.

POLL: Most Americans Want Congress To Make Zika Funding A High Priority

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Maker Of EpiPen To Sell Generic Version For Half The Price

Mylan, the maker of EpiPen, says it will sell a generic version for $300 for a two-pack, a price that consumer advocates say is still too high. The device is used to treat severe allergic reactions. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Maker Of EpiPen To Sell Generic Version For Half The Price

Mylan's move comes amid pressure from consumers and Congress to lower the allergy drug's price. In less than 10 years, the price has risen from about $100 to more than $600 for an injector two-pack.

Maker Of EpiPen To Sell Generic Version For Half The Price

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Medical Treatments

Mother Calls EpiPen Price Hike 'A Matter Of Life And Death'

Lawmakers are demanding answers after the maker of an allergy treatment raised the price from about $100 per pack to about $600 per pack in seven years. Parents say they can't afford it.

Mother Calls EpiPen Price Hike 'A Matter Of Life And Death'

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Discounts Aren't Enough to Halt Outrage At High EpiPen Prices

The cost of an EpiPen two-pack has risen more than 400 percent in recent years. The drug is used to halt severe allergic reactions. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Discounts Aren't Enough to Halt Outrage At High EpiPen Prices

EpiPen, the new poster child for prescription drug price gouging, may find that offering discount coupons isn't enough to mollify its critics in Congress and online.

Discounts Aren't Enough to Halt Outrage At High EpiPen Prices

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EpiPen Manufacturer Says It Will Help With Out-Of-Pocket Costs

An aggressive marketing campaign has made the EpiPen the go-to drug for treating anaphylaxis. Mark Zaleski/AP hide caption

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Mark Zaleski/AP

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EpiPen Manufacturer Says It Will Help With Out-Of-Pocket Costs

Lawmakers are demanding answers as to why the price of EpiPens, which are used to stop life-threatening allergic reaction, keeps going up. The company said Thursday it will reimburse some of the cost.

EpiPen Manufacturer Says It Will Help With Out-Of-Pocket Costs

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Aetna Joins Other Major Insurers In Pulling Back From Obamacare

Aetna is the latest big health insurer to retreat from the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act. Jessica Hill/AP hide caption

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Jessica Hill/AP

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Aetna Joins Other Major Insurers In Pulling Back From Obamacare

The exit of insurers from exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act represents a fresh challenge to the viability of the president's signature health care law.

Aetna Joins Other Major Insurers In Pulling Back From Obamacare

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Will Your Prescription Meds Be Covered Next Year? Better Check!

Express Scripts assures patients it has a policy of not putting cancer medicine or mental health drugs on the list of products it excludes from its formulary. Fuse/Getty Images hide caption

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Fuse/Getty Images

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Will Your Prescription Meds Be Covered Next Year? Better Check!

Insurers have released the latest lists of prescription drugs they won't cover in 2017. Express Scripts is excluding 85 drugs and CVS Caremark, 131. Some drugs for diabetes and asthma are out.

Will Your Prescription Meds Be Covered Next Year? Better Check!

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FDA-Approved Knock-Offs Of Biotech Drugs Could Safely Save Big Bucks

In 2015, the Sandoz unit of drugmaker Novartis won Food and Drug Administration approval of a drug called Zarxio, which is similar to Amgen's Neupogen, a medicine that boosts the production of white blood cells. Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images

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FDA-Approved Knock-Offs Of Biotech Drugs Could Safely Save Big Bucks

Drugs that consist of proteins and antibodies typically made by living organisms represent the new frontier in drug industry competition.