In Constant Battle With Insurers, Doctors Reach for a Cudgel: A.I.
As health plans increasingly rely on technology to deny treatment, physicians are fighting back with chatbots that synthesize research and make the case.
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![Dr. Azlan Tariq uses A.I. to help fight insurance denials of treatments that need pre-approval. “I think for people like me, ChatGPT and generative A.I. have been a lifeline,” he said.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2024/07/05/multimedia/00ai-doctors-01b-btqc/00ai-doctors-01b-btqc-videoLarge.jpg?auto=webp)
As health plans increasingly rely on technology to deny treatment, physicians are fighting back with chatbots that synthesize research and make the case.
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Legal maneuverings followed a Supreme Court ruling last month that denied the Sackler family immunity from liability over its role in the opioid crisis.
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In a report, the regulator sharply criticized pharmacy benefit managers, a turnaround from its longstanding tolerance of their practices.
By Reed Abelson and
Lisa Pisano, 54, lived with the organ for 47 days. She was the first patient to receive both a heart pump and an organ transplant, doctors said.
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Children With Autism Carry Unique Gut Flora, Study Finds
The research, which builds on previous work, eventually may lead to a more objective diagnostic tool, scientists said.
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The Killer Stalking Sri Lanka’s Men
Climate change and contaminated water have combined to create an epidemic of kidney disease.
By Kang-Chun Cheng and
The first vaccine for malaria received major regulatory approval in 2015.
After years of delay, millions of malaria vaccines are being supplied to children in Africa. Tens of thousands died waiting.
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Turning 26 and Struggling to Find Health Insurance? Tell Us About It.
The New York Times and KFF Health News are looking into a dreaded “adulting” milestone: finding your own medical insurance at 26.
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New Drug Approved for Early Alzheimer’s
The drug, Kisunla, made by Eli Lilly, is the latest in a new class of treatments that could modestly slow cognitive decline in initial stages of the disease but also carry safety risks.
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How Science Went to the Dogs (and Cats)
Pets were once dismissed as trivial scientific subjects. Today, companion animal science is hot.
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Their Job Is to Help You Grieve Your Pet
Though still rare, social workers in animal hospitals are growing in their ranks.
By Katie Thomas and
The Pet ‘Superheroes’ Who Donate Their Blood
Transfusions have become an important part of veterinary medicine, but cat and dog blood is not always easy to come by.
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Why You’re Paying Your Veterinarian So Much
People have grown more attached to their pets — and more willing to spend money on them — turning animal medicine into a high-tech industry worth billions.
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Are We Loving Our Pets to Death?
Pet owners are treating their animal charges ever more like humans. But that isn’t good for pets, or for us, many experts argue.
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Your Brain Holds Secrets. Scientists Want to Find Them.
Many Americans plan to donate their organs for transplants or their bodies for medical science. Few realize that there’s a growing need for their brains, too.
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Personal Conflicts, Even Violence, Are Not Uncommon in Long-Term Care
Arguments, verbal abuse and aggression are not unusual in elder care settings. Better staffing and training can ease the tensions, experts say.
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When ‘Prior Authorization’ Becomes a Medical Roadblock
Medicare Advantage plans say it reduces waste and inappropriate care. Critics say it often restricts coverage unnecessarily.
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When Families Fight Over a Relative With Dementia, It’s Time to Call in the Mediator
Trained negotiators can help families struggling with vexing elder-care issues.
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‘Aging in Place, or Stuck in Place?’
Homeownership is not the boon to older Americans that it once was.
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Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care
The United States has no coherent system for providing long-term care, leading many who are aging to struggle to stay independent or to rely on a patchwork of solutions.
By Reed Abelson and
Desperate Families Search for Affordable Home Care
Facing a severe shortage of aides and high costs, people trying to keep aging loved ones at home often cobble together a patchwork of family and friends to help.
By Reed Abelson and
Extra Fees Drive Assisted-Living Profits
The add-ons pile up: $93 for medications, $50 for cable TV. Prices soar as the industry leaves no service unbilled. The housing option is out of reach for many families.
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Why Long-Term Care Insurance Falls Short for So Many
The private insurance market has proved wildly inadequate in providing financial security for millions of older Americans, in part by underestimating how many policyholders would use their coverage.
By Jordan Rau and
‘I Wish I Had Known That No One Was Going to Help Me’
Adult children discuss the trials of caring for their aging parents: unreliable agencies, a lack of help and dwindling financial resources.
By Reed Abelson and
Millions of Americans use e-cigarettes. There’s little research into how to help them stop.
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Want to Increase Your Fitness? Take a Rest Day.
Scheduling time to recover can help you avoid injury and enhance performance.
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Is a Fiber Supplement Just as Good as Fiber From Food?
Experts explain what fiber supplements can and can’t do for your health.
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They Went Viral Making Sunscreen From Scratch. Experts Have Concerns.
Nara and Lucky Blue Smith make some of their own cosmetics, but the practice has risks.
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Have You Ever Had a Bad Therapist? Tell Us About It.
A New York Times mental health reporter wants to hear why therapy didn’t work out.
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A leading biochemist, she helped shape guidelines in the 1970s on genetic-engineering while calming public fears of a spread of deadly lab-made microbes.
By Denise Gellene
The Times wants to hear from patients and providers about medical practices affiliated with Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. Share your experience below.
By Chris Hamby
She was involved in a minor car accident three months earlier. Could that somehow be the cause?
By Lisa Sanders, M.D.
Every spring, hundreds of bicyclists gather in Santa Fe, N.M., to ride through a high-desert landscape rich in art, history and Indigenous culture. This year, the author, who lost the use of his legs 12 years ago, joined them.
By Bill Becher
The White House said President Biden had met with a neurologist only three times in more than three years in office, and implied that the doctor’s visits were related to treating other people.
By Emily Baumgaertner and Peter Baker
He found that a failed contraceptive, tamoxifen, could block the growth of cancer cells, opening up a whole new class of treatment.
By Clay Risen
The insects seem to know which injuries to treat as they engage in a behavior that seems almost human.
By Annie Roth
She developed one of the first modern intensive care units for premature babies, helping newborns to breathe with lifesaving new treatments.
By Randi Hutter Epstein
My dad always remembered his childhood journey through Europe. Now, with Alzheimer’s claiming his memories, we tried to recreate it.
By Francesca Mari
A former hippie who chafed at wealth, she married a Chicago real estate titan and, after his death, donated hundreds of millions in her adopted city and beyond.
By Alex Williams
A Texas hospital is experimenting with hologram technology for doctors to see patients. Some health care experts wonder if it’s beneficial.
By Hank Sanders
Scientists say that findings from a small experiment lend hope the outbreak among dairy cattle can potentially be contained.
By Carl Zimmer
Mine is the first generation that has corporate benefits for a technology with the potential to slow the biological clock. Is it feminist dream or Silicon Valley fantasy?
By Emma Goldberg
Dr. Alex Arroyo, a director of pediatric medicine in Brooklyn, gets to live out his “Star Wars” dreams, practice jujitsu and make a big mess while cooking for his family.
By Sarah Bahr
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The statement followed a report in The Times that a federal health official had urged the removal of age minimums from treatment guidelines for transgender minors.
By Roni Caryn Rabin, Teddy Rosenbluth and Noah Weiland
Hoau-Yan Wang, a professor at City College, published studies supporting simufilam, now in advanced clinical trials.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
The court’s strategy of avoidance and delay cannot last and may have been shaped by a desire to avoid controversy in an election year.
By Adam Liptak
Stress, ovarian cancer, buoyancy disorders: Every pet has its troubles, and needs a good doctor who makes house calls.
By Emily Anthes and Nic Coury
As the virus continues to mutate, the C.D.C. urged Americans to roll up their sleeves again for annual vaccinations.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Plaintiffs and the company vowed to renegotiate but the talks will be challenging after the court struck down a provision the Sacklers had insisted on in exchange for $6 billion.
By Jan Hoffman
The species survived on an island north of Siberia for thousands of years, scientists reported, but were most likely plagued by genetic abnormalities.
By Carl Zimmer
A majority of the justices voted to dismiss the case, reinstating a lower-court ruling that paused the state’s near-total abortion ban. The ruling mirrored a version inadvertently posted a day earlier.
By Abbie VanSickle
The justices rejected a bankruptcy settlement maneuver that would have protected members of the Sackler family from civil claims related to the opioid epidemic.
By Abbie VanSickle
At a barbershop in Colorado, stylists and customers discussed a matter of social protocol.
By Matt Richtel and Theo Stroomer
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Among Americans aged 60 to 74, only those with certain health conditions need to receive the shots, the agency concluded.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
A document posted briefly to the court’s website suggested a majority of the justices would reinstate a lower-court ruling that paused the state’s near-total abortion ban.
By Abbie VanSickle
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has called on a government watchdog to investigate. Here’s what you need to know.
By Alisha Haridasani Gupta
Cats are more social than they are often given credit for. Can you help yours access its inner dog?
By Emily Anthes
Newly released emails from an influential group issuing transgender medical guidelines indicate that U.S. health officials lobbied to remove age minimums for surgery in minors because of concerns over political fallout.
By Azeen Ghorayshi
Public employees in West Virginia who took the drugs lost weight and were healthier, and some are despondent that the state is canceling a program to help pay for them.
By Oliver Whang
Dr. Vivek Murthy is calling for a multipronged effort to reduce gun deaths, modeled on campaigns against smoking and traffic fatalities.
By Ellen Barry
Despite decades of research, the evidence for omega-3 supplements is murky.
By Alice Callahan
An injection given just twice a year could herald a breakthrough in protecting the population that has the highest infection rates.
By Stephanie Nolen
Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government. New York Times pharmaceutical reporter, Rebecca Robbins, explains how.
By Rebecca Robbins, Claire Hogan, Christina Shaman and James Surdam
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Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government.
By Rebecca Robbins and Reed Abelson
Here’s what to know about your pharmacy benefit manager and how to find out if you are being overcharged for medications.
By Reed Abelson and Rebecca Robbins
Dr. Hans Klingemann, pioneering immunotherapy scientist, has studied whether the innovative treatment could save his two pets.
By Matt Richtel
A new study adds to a large body of evidence on the effectiveness of movement for treating and preventing pain.
By Talya Minsberg
High temperatures can make us miserable. Research shows they also make us aggressive, impulsive and dull.
By Dana G. Smith
Neck cracks and spine adjustments have become a potent social media trend, but some chiropractors fear the videos send the wrong message about the profession.
By Derrick Bryson Taylor
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