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Training on how to spot human trafficking is given not only to doctors and nurses but also to registration and reception staff, social workers and security guards.

Hospitals Gear Up For New Diagnosis: Human Trafficking

Many people forced into labor or the sex trade seek medical help at some point, and health care workers are being trained to identify them and to offer assistance.

Proponents of hospital mergers say the change can help struggling nonprofit hospitals "thrive," with an infusion of cash to invest in updated technology and top clinical staff. But research shows the price of care, especially for low-income patients, usually rises when a hospital joins a for-profit corporation.

Can A Community Hospital Stick To Its Mission When It Goes For-Profit?

After 130 years as a nonprofit hospital with deep roots in North Carolina, Mission Health is seeking to be bought by HCA Healthcare, the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain.

Sovereign Valentine, a personal trainer in Plains, Mont., needs dialysis for his end-stage renal disease. When he first started dialysis treatments, Fresenius Kidney Care clinic in Missoula charged $13,867.74 per session, or about 59 times the $235 Medicare pays for a dialysis session.

Dialysis Firm Cancels $524,600.17 Medical Bill After Journalists Investigate

This week, NPR profiled a Montana man who was billed nearly half a million dollars for 14 weeks of dialysis, after being caught in a dispute between insurer and the dialysis provider. Now he owes $0.

The new exemptions will mostly apply to penalty payments tied to 2018 taxes and to the previous two years.

4 New Exemptions To The Tax Penalty For Lacking Health Insurance

Rule changes from the Trump administration offer exemptions for people in areas with only one marketplace plan, as well as for some who oppose abortion and can't find a health plan that excludes it.

Under the Affordable Care Act, many insurance plans are required to cover a range of essential services, such as hospitalization and prescription drugs. But reimbursement for certain medical equipment — such as crutches or a leg boot after an injury — varies widely from plan to plan.

Sprained Your Ankle? The Cost Of A Walking Boot Could Sprain Your Wallet

Your health insurance plan might not cover items such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, boots and braces. The cost is small compared with many medical bills, but adds up if you pay out-of-pocket.

Maryland's overturned law restricted the price of generic drugs, and had been hailed as a model for other states. It's one of a number of state initiatives designed to combat rapidly rising drug prices.

Federal Appeals Court Finds State's Drug Price-Gouging Law Unconstitutional

Legal analysts say the decision to overturn Maryland's law could slow momentum for other states that are attempting to take action to curb high drug costs.

The same steep growth and use of big data that attracted venture capital cash to companies that administer Medicare Advantage plans have led to scrutiny of the companies by government officials. Federal audits estimate such plans nationwide have overcharged taxpayers nearly $10 billion annually.

Missouri Firm With Silicon Valley Ties Faces Medicare Billing Scrutiny

A federal audit and a whistleblower lawsuit allege that Medicare Advantage plans from the St. Louis-based Essence Group Holdings Corp. have significantly overcharged taxpayers.

Demonstrators from Doctors for America marched in support of the Affordable Care Act outside the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2015. Now, another case aims to undo the federal health law: <em>Texas v. United States</em> could land in front of the Supreme Court ahead of the 2020 election.

The Affordable Care Act Is Back In Court: 5 Facts You Need To Know

The ACA is again being put to the test, after a lower court judge ruled the massive health law unconstitutional. The case might yet ricochet back to the Supreme Court ahead of the 2020 election.

Don Gregorio has lived all his life in the same home in Humacao, a city on Puerto Rico's eastern coast that was hard-hit by Hurricane Maria. Many of his old friends have since left for the mainland, the former carpenter says, and he feels very alone.

Listless And Lonely In Puerto Rico, Some Older Storm Survivors Consider Suicide

The electricity is back on across much of the island, but the disruption to community spirit continues. Isolation, anxiety and depression are up, as are suicides, especially among older adults.

Telemedicine is making it easier for inmates to be seen for special medical needs, like cancer or cardiac care.

When Inmates Need A Specialist, They Often See The Doctor By Video

Corrections officials are increasingly using remote appointments to handle specialized needs, such as psychiatric, cancer and cardiac care.

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