Julie Rovner

As federal lawmakers return to work, they faces tough choices about the budget, worrying advocates for medical research, teen pregnancy prevention and other health initiatives.

Some Republican candidates for president claim they have defunded Planned Parenthood in their states already. But the truth, others say, depends on how you define "defund."

Flashback to the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan tried to restrict funding for Planned Parenthood. Efforts in Congress have continued since then, with the latest focused on fetal tissue research.

In a letter to state regulators, the Obama administration says rates shouldn't be allowed to go up as much as some insurers are proposing for plans sold to individuals on the health exchanges.

The average user of birth control pills saved $255 in the first year after an Affordable Care Act requirement that insurers cover contraceptives without copays went into effect, a study finds.

President Obama hails the Affordable Care Act for driving the uninsured rate "to its lowest level ever." But changes in how the rate has been measured make historical claims difficult.

If the court rules against the Obama administration, health insurance subsidies could be eliminated for more than 6 million people in states that use HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange website.

Many of the students at Mount Sinai's medical school in New York majored in English or history, and never took the MCAT. The school sees that diversity among its students as a great strength.

Insurers dispute that notion that the problems are widespread. Consumers and advocates have complained to insurers, and some policies have been changed.

Medicine has changed a lot in the past 100 years. But medical training has stayed much the same. Many schools are now retooling — focusing on teamwork — to train a different kind of doctor.