Blake Farmer

Congress required health plans to fully cover COVID-19 testing, but insurance companies say they should only have to pay if tests are "medically necessary" or ordered by a doctor.

Nationwide, coronavirus infection numbers are trending down, but several states are seeing upticks, with the heaviest impact falling on communities of color and nursing home residents.

Nationwide coronavirus infection numbers are trending down, but several states are seeing upticks, including California and in the South. In the Northeast, things are looking up as infections fall.

As states move on from social distancing, they need plenty of coronavirus testing to prevent future outbreaks. But many communities face testing bottlenecks. Tennessee has a solution.

Only a few states have enough tests to ensure safe reopening. Most of those have a small population or have taken up unique approaches. The state of Tennessee has decided to pay for every single test.

The states of New Jersey and Tennessee have two very different plans for reopening their economies.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with WPLN's Blake Farmer from Nashville and KCUR's Peggy Lowe from Kansas City about how nursing homes are dealing with deadly outbreaks of COVID-19.

Newly released data shows the toll the disease is taking on doctors, nurses and other health care workers. Nurses' groups call for increased protection for frontline staff.

Most available coronavirus data doesn't include ethnic or racial demographics, but public health experts say they fear the response to the pandemic will lead to predictable health care disparities.

The coronavirus doesn't discriminate in who it infects. But some doctors say the U.S. health care system's pandemic response is already showing familiar patterns of bias.

The three-time Grammy-winning icon, whose hits included "Lucille," "Lady" and "The Gambler," died at home in Sandy Springs, Ga., his family said in a statement.

There is currently no central coordination of the supply of protective garb and masks in U.S. hospital inventories. A CDC project wants hospitals to share that information for the good of all.

Tuesday's tornadoes in Tennessee killed 24 people and ripped through cities and rural areas alike. As residents work to recover, they're finding it slow going.

In middle Tennessee, cleanup and recovery continue after a series of deadly tornadoes early Tuesday which killed more than 20 people and injured dozens of others.

Powerful storms and tornadoes roared across middle Tennessee overnight, killing at least 22 people throughout the state. Rescue crews spent the day searching for victims and cleaning up.

The tornado struck in Tennessee in the middle of the night — there are several confirmed deaths and many more are injured. Authorities are still trying to map out the full scope of the damage.

The firm that staffed the emergency room with doctors at Nashville General Hospital was taking more patients to court for unpaid medical bills than any other hospital or practice in the city.

The for-profit hospice industry has grown, allowing more Americans to die at home. But few family members realize that "hospice care" still means they'll do most of the physical and emotional work.

U-Haul is the latest company to say it won't hire nicotine users, in the 21 states where that's legal. It's one way to avoid the costs of smoking-related illness, but critics call it discrimination.

It's hard to manage chronic conditions without a steady source of healthy food. That's why health care providers are setting up food pantries — right inside hospitals and clinics.