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Emergencies happen at all hours, but the cost of staffing an emergency department at night is higher than by day, according to emergency care providers.

A 24/7 Emergency Room Charges An 'After-Hours' Fee. Who Should Pay?

A severe allergic reaction sent a patient at night to an ER, which now wants to charge more than for a daytime visit. Billing specialists say the patient might have grounds for an appeal.

An average of 13,776 inmates in 45 California counties were on psychotropic medications in 2016-2017, a recent report found. That is up from 10,999 five years ago.

Big Jump Seen In Number Of Inmates Prescribed Psychiatric Drugs In California

Amid a severe shortage of psychiatric beds and community-based treatment throughout the state and nation, county jails have become repositories for people in the throes of acute mental health crises.

Back pain shouldn't stop you from cooking at home. Here's how to adapt

A new cookbook offers kitchen techniques that reduce physical exertion. It aims to make home cooking accessible again for those with chronic back pain.

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.

The best help for patients struggling with addiction, eating disorders or other mental health problems sometimes includes intensive therapy, the evidence shows. But many patients still have trouble getting their health insurers to cover needed mental health treatment.

'Mental Health Parity' Is Still An Elusive Goal In U.S. Insurance Coverage

The Affordable Care Act and other U.S. laws sought to put insurance coverage for mental health conditions on equal footing with coverage for physical conditions. But patients say that's not happening.

Drug agents last fall worked with a Minneapolis police SWAT team to seize just under 171 pounds of methamphetamine. Many U.S. states say they face an escalating problem with meth and drugs other than opioids.

Federal Grants Restricted To Fighting Opioids Miss The Mark, States Say

The U.S. government has doled out at least $2.4 billion in state grants since 2017, specifically targeting the opioid epidemic. Yet drug abuse problems seldom involve only one substance.

Opponents running to Joe Biden's left say his health plan for America merely "tinkers around the edges" of the Affordable Care Act. But a close read reveals some initiatives in Biden's plan that are so expansive they might have trouble passing even a Congress held by Democrats.

Radical Or Incremental? What's Really In Joe Biden's Health Plan

The Biden plan released this week is an update of the Affordable Care Act with controversial differences. Among them: a "public option" that covers abortion, and subsidized premiums for more people.

Plump red blood cells — tumbling amid infection-fighting white blood cells and purple platelets in this colorized, microscopic view — need adequate levels of iron to be able to carry and deliver oxygen around the body. Iron-deficiency anemia is sometimes remedied with IV iron infusions — and the bill can vary by thousands of dollars.

$2,733 To Treat Iron-Poor Blood? Iron Infusions For Anemia Under Scrutiny

Iron-deficiency anemia is often remedied with drugstore iron pills. But if that doesn't work, doctors sometimes prescribe iron infusions — and the bill for that can vary by thousands of dollars. Why?

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.

An executive order President Trump signed Monday aims to make most hospital pricing more transparent to patients, long before they get the bill.

Trump's Plan To Lower Your Hospital Costs: Here's What You Need To Know

A broad executive order issued Monday is supposed to help consumers get better estimates of health care costs. But whether it will be a game-changer depends on the details, health care analysts say.

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