Health industry

With an end-of-year deadline and a presidential election approaching, payment rules that fueled rapid expansion of telehealth in the United States face a last-minute congressional decision.

The historically troubled White House Medical Unit is just one part of a government system that gives VIP care to officials, military officers, military retirees and families. Pentagon investigators say some were prioritized over rank-and-file soldiers.

A restructuring of the Medicare drug benefit has wiped out big drug bills for people who need expensive medicines. But the legal battle over drug negotiations means uncertainty over long-term savings.

In a torrent of lawsuits in Alachua County, patients accuse device maker Exactech of hiding knee and hip implant defects for years. The company denies the allegations.

The point isn’t that Donald Trump managed drug shortages badly as president or that Joe Biden is handling them badly now, experts said. Many factors contribute to the problem.

Mississippi has the highest rate of Black maternal mortality and morbidity in the U.S. Now, it also has a federal grant to help in rural areas. The award could signal more flexibility from federal officials.

With the rise of AI, people who once turned to Google to check on medical issues are going to chatbots. Researchers say the bots are often more accurate but urge caution in the absence of regulations.

Prior authorization is a common tool used by health insurers for many tests, procedures and prescriptions. Frustrated by the process some patients and doctors want to elevate their denials for further review.

As three years of pandemic stress accelerated an ongoing nationwide mental health crisis, peer respite programs diverted patients from overburdened ERs, psychiatric institutions and behavioral therapists.

A quality-control crisis at an Indian pharmaceutical factory has left doctors and their patients with impossible choices as cheap, effective, generic cancer drugs go out of stock.