At St. Luke’s in Houston, Patients Suffer as a Renowned Heart Transplant Program Loses Its Luster

The hospital and its legendary surgeon Denton Cooley performed some of the world’s first heart transplants back in the 1960s. In recent years, though, it has had some of the worst heart transplant outcomes in the country.

As Wait for New Heart Got Longer, Patient Grew Sicker

Baylor St. Luke’s in Houston was known for handling complex heart transplants. But when Travis Hogan was a patient there, he didn’t know that the program was undergoing a series of dramatic changes. He never got his heart.

Measuring the Toll of the Opioid Epidemic Is Tougher Than It Seems

One of our editors set out to create an ambitious list of data sources on the opioid epidemic. Much of what he found was out of date, and some data contradicted other data.

Some Doctors Still Billing Medicare for the Most Complicated, Expensive Office Visits

When Buying Prescription Drugs, Some Pay More With Insurance Than Without It

As insurers ask consumers to pay a greater share of their drug costs, it may be cheaper to pay cash than use your insurance card. One expert estimates that consumers could be overpaying for as many as 1 in 10 prescriptions.

How to Save Money on Your Prescription Drugs

Online prescription sites may help you find cheaper prices for some drugs, sometimes without using your insurance.

Some U.S. Hospitals Don’t Put Americans First for Liver Transplants

At a time when there aren’t enough livers for ailing Americans, wealthy foreigners fly here for transplants.

VA Delays Key Agent Orange Decisions

Since March 2016, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been weighing whether to expand Agent Orange benefits to Vietnam vets with bladder cancer and hypothyroidism, as well as other ailments. It keeps missing its own deadlines to act.

Pressure Mounts on Insurance Companies to Consider Their Role in Opioid Epidemic

Another lawmaker is asking insurers whether their policies have made it easier for patients to access cheaper, more addictive drugs over less addictive alternatives. Meanwhile, the insurance industry trade group pledged additional steps to combat inappropriate prescribing.

Senator Calls on Insurers to Improve Access to Non-Opioid Pain Treatments

The move follows a story by ProPublica and The New York Times detailing how insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers have made it easier to get opioid painkillers than less risky alternatives.

Attorneys General in 37 States Urge Insurance Industry to Do More to Curb Opioid Epidemic

They want insurers to re-examine coverage policies that, as ProPublica and The New York Times reported Sunday, may be driving patients toward addictive painkillers.

Why Are Drug Prices So High? We’re Curious, Too.

The New York Times and ProPublica have teamed up to investigate who is to blame for skyrocketing drug prices — and have turned up some surprising answers.

Amid Opioid Crisis, Insurers Restrict Pricey, Less Addictive Painkillers

Drug companies and doctors have been accused of fueling the opioid crisis, but some question whether insurers have played a role, too.

Risky, Overused Medications Prescribed Far Less Often in the Aloha State

Medicare patients in Hawaii take fewer opioid painkillers and fewer antibiotics, on average, than those in any other state. Physicians and health policy experts cite demographics and healthier lifestyles as possible reasons why.

Generic Drug Prices Are Declining, But Many Consumers Aren’t Benefiting

Outcry has been building over the rising cost of brand-name medications, but the price of generic drugs has been moving in the opposite direction. The stock prices of generic manufacturers have tumbled, but many consumers aren’t paying less at the pharmacy counter.