Thanks to new US law, we now know the standard price for a cotton ball at the New York Presbyterian Hospital is $1.15. The list price for a skull X-ray at Orlando Health is $695 and NYU Langone’s average charge for a heart transplant is $1,698,831.13.
Unde...
healthcare
Finally, US hospitals will have to post their prices online
Astronomical hospital bills are a trope of American health care. Hospitals in the US are known for charging exorbitant fees for simple procedures, and for adding baffling entries to discharge bills. Notorious examples include the woman who was charged $40 to hold her newbo...
Read Nancy Pelosi’s statement on the court ruling striking down the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act was overturned Friday night (Dec. 14) by a federal judge in Texas, who declared it unconstitutional in light of recent changes to the US tax code.
While the decision is expected to move on to the US ...
When it comes to longevity, we should look to the East, not the West
This story is part of What Happens Next, our complete guide to understanding the future. Read more predictions about the Future of Aging.
The longevity era has arrived—and it looks different to your grandparents’ generation.
If you’re 65 ...
The most screwed-up employee perk in America (and the man who just might fix it)
The last time Atul Gawande started a company, he named it after a Greek myth.
Ariadne Labs, based in Boston, Massachusetts—where Gawande also works as a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and teaches at Harvard—has been trying since 2012 to innovate in an area that has historically resisted innovat...
How to track the most important races and issues in the US midterm elections
American voters are expected to turn out in record numbers today to elect 435 House representatives, 35 senators, 36 state governors, and hundreds of local politicians.
The election has been called a referendum on Donald Trump’s divisive presidency. But with Trump and som...
The US now has more than 56.7 million freelance workers—and they vote
Freelancers are on the rise. And they’re rising up.
A new report from Freelancers Union and Upwork estimates that there are now 56.7 million Americans freelancers, an increase of 3.7 million in the past five years.
“The s...
The future of work will raise difficult questions. Are we prepared to confront them?
On a hot day last May, entrepreneurs from all over the world packed themselves into a warehouse event space just off of New York City’s FDR highway for TechCrunch Disrupt. Half trade show, half Shark Tank–style pitch competition, Disrupt is a tri-annual gathering where s...
New research reveals one of the bad things about a higher minimum wage
Ever since there have been economists, there have been debates between economists about the impact of a minimum wage (pdf). Few research topics feature so many twists and turns. Many economists once presumed that higher w...
Trump blames “global freeloading” for costly US drugs. That’s not the problem
Introducing his plan to reduce prescription drug prices in America today, Donald Trump said his government would focus on “tougher negotiation, more competition, and much lower prices.”
The president criticized drug makers and insurance companies for failing to put...
