Michelle Andrews

We have received a bunch of questions about enrolling in Medicare lately. Here are answers to two that came up recently.

My wife has been automatically re-enrolled in a silver policy on the Oklahoma health insurance marketplace. She will turn 65 and be enrolled in Medicare on May 1, 2015. ...

As some companies add egg freezing to their list of fertility benefits, they're touting the coverage as a family-friendly perk.

Women's health advocates say they welcome any expansion of fertility coverage. But they say that the much-publicized changes at a few high-profile companies such as Facebook and Apple are still ...

Misunderstandings about whether some types of job-based coverage disqualify consumers from signing up for subsidized insurance through the health law's marketplaces may lead some people to buy skimpier employer plans instead.

In recent weeks, some of the people called assisters, who help shoppers find coverage, say consumers are being told ...

Do it or else. Increasingly, that's the message from employers who are offering financial incentives to workers who take part in wellness programs that include screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index.

But the programs are under fire from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed suit ...

For young people, turning 21 is generally a reason to celebrate.

If they're insured through the federal health insurance marketplace that operates in about three-dozen states, however, their birthday could mean a whopping 58 percent jump in their health insurance premium in 2015, according to an analysis by researchers ...

On Election Day, Arizona voters approved a referendum that allows terminally ill patients to receive treatment with drugs and devices that haven't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Arizona became the fifth state to approve a so-called right-to-try law this year.

Supporters say the laws give ...

Mind the gap. When the 2015 open enrollment period begins on Nov. 15 for plans sold on the individual market, consumers would be wise to act promptly to avoid a gap in coverage.

Failing to do so could leave you exposed to unexpected medical bills. (Uh-oh, appendicitis!) And you could ...

In the past year, hepatitis C drugs that promise higher cure rates and fewer side effects have given fresh hope to millions who are living with the chronic liver disease.

But many patients whose livers haven't been significantly scarred by the virus face a vexing reality: They're not sick enough ...

To clamp down on health care costs, a growing number of employers and insurers are putting limits on how much they'll pay for certain medical services such as knee replacements, lab tests and complex imaging.

A recent study found that savings from such moves may be modest, however, and some ...

Fall is enrollment season for many people who get insurance through their workplace. Premium increases for 2015 plans are expected to be modest on average, but the shift toward higher out-of-pocket costs overall for consumers will continue as employers try to keep a lid on their costs and incorporate health ...

Although April 15 seems a long way off, decisions people make about health coverage can have have big tax implications.

I understand that different members of a family can buy different marketplace plans. How does that work with premium tax credits for a husband and wife? How do they get ...

Medicare beneficiaries who want to make changes to their prescription drug plans or Medicare Advantage coverage can do so starting Oct. 15. That's when Medicare's annual open enrollment period begins.

This year, there will be somewhat fewer plans to pick from, but in general people can still expect plenty of ...

Everyone seems to agree that proton beam therapy — a type of radiation treatment that can target cancerous tumors while generally sparing the surrounding tissue — is an exciting technology with a lot of potential.

But some insurers and medical specialists say that coverage shouldn't be routine, until there's better ...

For decades, states have set rules for health coverage through mandates. These laws require insurers to cover specific types of medical care or services.

The Affordable Care Act aims to curb this piecemeal approach to coverage by establishing minimum standards for insurance coverage in individual and small group plans nationwide ...

Now that the federal health law forbids denial of insurance for pre-existing condition, some people have wondered if they can wait until they get sick to buy health coverage.

Let's say an uninsured person is in a car accident, has emergency surgery and is hospitalized, and after awaking from surgery ...

Infertility treatment is a numbers game in some respects: How many treatments will it take to conceive a child? And how much can you afford?

Even as insurance plans are modestly improving their coverage of such treatments, clinics and others are coming up with creative ways to cover the costs ...

When Yuri Maldonado's 6-year-old son was diagnosed with autism four years ago, she learned that getting him the therapy he needed from California's Medicaid plan for low-income children was going to be tough.

Medi-Cal, as California's plan is called, does provide coverage of autism services for some children who are ...

How much leeway do employers and insurers have in deciding whether they'll cover contraceptives without charge and in determining which methods make the cut?

Not much, as it turns out, but that hasn't stopped some from trying.

People still write in regularly describing battles they're waging to get birth control ...

What's in a name? When it comes to health plans sold on the individual market, these days it's often less than people think.

The lines that distinguish HMOs, PPOs, EPOs and POS plans from one another have blurred, making it hard to know what you're buying by name alone, assuming ...

There have been violent protests against the police in Ferguson, Missouri, for more than a week, since police shot and killed an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown.

An African-American professor watching the situation sees a link between what’s happening in Missouri today and what happened in the state in ...