Sarah Jane Tribble

A federal drug program blocks rural hospitals from getting discounts on rare-disease drugs, forcing staff to cut back on supplies of lifesaving medicines.

One in 9 Medicare enrollees have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and many of them can't afford the inhalers that keep them out of the emergency room.

The Orphan Drug Act was created to help patients with rare diseases get life-saving medications. But soaring prices suggest the law is being manipulated to increase profits.

Two congressmen met with President Trump seeking support for a bill to expand the government's ability to negotiate drug prices. But it's not clear it would have much impact or will gain support.

Amid an uproar over soaring drug prices, three GOP senators are seeking an investigation into whether the Orphan Drug Act is being manipulated to jack up the cost of medications for rare diseases.

Many Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients in the U.S. have imported a medicine called deflazacort for about $1,200 a year. A brand-name version just approved for sale in America costs $89,000.

Citing a Kaiser Health News investigation, Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will examine potential abuses of incentives to spur development of drugs for rare diseases.

Three decades ago, Congress set up a system to encourage drug companies to develop treatments for rare diseases. The law has worked, but at a high cost.

Drugmakers have brought almost 450 orphan drugs to market and collected rich incentives by doing so. But nearly a third of the medicines aren't new or were repurposed many times for financial gain.

A voucher awarded to a company that finds a treatment for a rare childhood disease can be sold to the highest bidder and then used to fast-track the review of another drug. Are the prizes worth it?

Researchers analyzing recent drug spending in the U.S. say that high-priced drugs for rare diseases aren't having a widespread or significant effect on overall health care spending.

Guilt still haunts a new mother who was addicted to opioids when she got pregnant. Once she was ready to ask for help, treatment programs that could handle her complicated pregnancy were hard to find.

A poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds that people in the politically important state of Ohio are divided over Obamacare.

When Rachel Mollen strolls into the cafe at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh with her 5-year-old son, she knows exactly the kind of food they will eat.

"Will, he's the youngest of four, and he wanted to do something special today," Mollen says. "I was trying to think ...

When East Cleveland's emergency medical squad gets called to treat a man with a severe nosebleed, it's a pretty run-of-the-mill case.

The patient walks woozily out to the ambulance from a tan house on a tree-lined street. Anthony Savoy, the head medic, calls ahead to University Hospitals, which has ...

Versions sold over the counter are based on older formulas and make tight control of blood sugar harder. But they're cheaper and might save a patient with diabetes whose alternative is to go without.

Ohio has put many restrictions on abortion. Since 2010, about half the clinics performing the procedure in the state have closed. But Dr. David Burkons sees offering abortion as part of patient care.

Minecraft can be more social and creative than watching TV. But kids' drive to play for hours on end can strain recommended limits on screen time. What's a mother to do?

The famed Cleveland Clinic is building a new cancer center right around the corner from a competing cancer hospital. Both institutions are confident there will be plenty of patients.

Economic forces are squeezing the city of Lakewood, just outside Cleveland, forcing the closure of one hospital even as another is built in a more affluent suburb.