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Families affected by preexisting medical conditions attend a Capitol Hill news conference in 2018 in support of the Affordable Care Act. Prior to the ACA, insurers could refuse to cover people who had even mild preexisting conditions — or charge them much more.

What Else Disappears If The ACA Is Overturned?

Though it has been on the books for nearly a decade, the Affordable Care Act faces a big court challenge right now that could overturn it. Here's what happens if the federal health law goes away.

Reduce Health Costs By Nurturing The Sickest? A Much-Touted Idea Disappoints

Matching the sickest patients with social workers and medical support doesn't reduce costly hospital readmissions, a study finds. Still, some believe greater social investment could make a difference.

Arline Feilen (left) and her sister, Kathy McCoy, at their mother's home in the Chicago suburbs. The biggest chunk of Feilen's bill was $16,480 for four nights in a room shared with another patient. McCoy joked that it would have been cheaper to stay at the Ritz-Carlton.

A Woman's Grief Led To A Mental Health Crisis And A $21,634 Hospital Bill

A woman in Illinois spent five days in the hospital undergoing psychiatric care to help her through a mental health crisis. The bill she got is about the same price as a new Honda Civic.

Service dogs can be trained to provide very different types of support to their human companions, as medical students learn from interacting with "Shetland," a highly skilled retriever-mix.

High-Ranking Dog Provides Key Training For Military's Medical Students

Service dogs are a common sight at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, near Washington, D.C. But this special canine trains would-be healers how to pick the right dog for a wounded veteran.

Tom and Dana Saputo sit in their backyard with their three dogs. Tom Saputo's double-lung transplant was fully covered by insurance, but he was responsible for an $11,524.79 portion of the charge for an air ambulance ride.

The Air Ambulance Billed More Than The Lung Transplant Surgeon

After Tom Saputo underwent a double-lung transplant in 2018, he was stunned by the more than $11,000 bill for his share of a 27-mile air ambulance ride from one hospital to another.

Colorado estimates that about 15% of the 12 million letters it sends to beneficiaries of public assistance programs each year are returned unopened, left to pile up in county offices like this one in Colorado Springs. That amounts to about 1.8 million pieces of undelivered mail each year statewide.

Return To Sender? Just One Missed Letter Can Be Enough To End Medicaid Benefits

Colorado, like a number of states, is struggling with huge piles of returned mail linked to public aid programs such as Medicaid or food stamps. But is dropping people from such assistance the answer?

Outside of risks from the fire's heat — and any health risks related to a long-term power outage — the main health concern in wildfire conditions is smoke, which produces particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs, increasing the risk of respiratory diseases and asthma, as well as heart problems.

Smoke And Power Outages Near California Wildfires Hit Farmworkers Hard

October marks not only fire season in California, but also the peak of the grape harvest. In areas not imminently threatened, some workers labor through heat and smoke to save harvests and paychecks.

Student demonstrators cheered in 2015 outside the Supreme Court after learning that the high court had upheld the Affordable Care Act as law of the land. But Republican foes of the federal health law are still working to have it struck down.

Stakes High For Democrats And Republicans In Bid To Rush ACA To Supreme Court

Both sides say they want the high court to quickly weigh in on a case that could invalidate the federal health law. Whatever the court decides will likely have consequences in 2020 elections.

Getting a handle on evolving vape culture means exploring the complex realm of subspecialists: "cloud chasers," "coil builders" and other people who identify as vape modders.

Artisanal Vapers? For Some, The Habit's About Much More Than Quitting Tobacco

Vaping has produced a diverse community of aficionados with all sorts of subspecialties. One vape-juice "mixologist" sells her recipes for as much as $1,500, while custom-made devices go for $3,000.

Vaping devices now come in many shapes and sizes; these were confiscated from students by a high school principal in Massachusetts in 2018.

As Vaping Devices Have Evolved, So Have Potential Hazards, Researchers Say

The technology behind e-cigarettes has changed over the years, and researchers are now finding evidence that the way different sorts of vaping devices and e-liquids interact could harm consumers.

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