Search results for

The latest health debate in Washington centers on which expenses insurers can count as spending on medical care. How the rules are decided will determine which companies comply with the new health law, and which ones will have to pay rebates.

An educational grant from the drugmaker Pfizer for training journalists is raising questions about potential conflicts of interest. The company says there are no strings attached. Ethics watchdogs aren't so sure.

Dr. Donald Berwick, federal chief of Medicare and Medicaid, asked insurers for their help in making health overhaul a success and to achieve common goals. Cheaper, better health care is in everyone's interest, he said.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is probing credit cards being pushed by health care providers, including vets. After a teaser rate expires, the interest charges balloon and leave consumers with unexpectedly big bills.

With clean drinking water scarce for millions of people in flood-ravaged parts of Pakistan, the risk of a cholera outbreak is increasing.

Of nearly 11,000 malpractice claims paid on behalf of doctors in 2009, some 43 percent were for errors in outpatient settings. Diagnostic errors were the most common problem leading to malpractice payments for outpatients.

With employers looking to hold the line on health costs and a persistent shortfall in public information about physician quality, choosing the right doctor is no easy task for most consumers.

While overall rates have dropped, there is still a major gap separating white, Hispanic and black teenagers. Non-Hispanic white teen pregnancy rates fell by 50 percent from their peak; Hispanic teen pregnancy rates, 37 percent; black teen pregnancy rates, 48 percent.

It's the first disclosure of prices in the nation's most populous state for individual health insurance that complies with the Affordable Care Act. The menu of affordable options surprised some consumer advocates and analysts who had been expecting premiums to be much higher.

Most health plans accept a credit card for the first month's premium and then require customers to pay monthly with a check or an electronic transfer from a bank account. For people without a banking relationship, these transactions can be tricky.