Should patients bear more of the cost for ambulance rides?
Should patients be on the hook for ambulance rides for non-emergencies? It's not that simple, write Dr. Surafel Tsega and Dr. Harry Cho in JAMA. More
Which hospitals sue patients for unpaid medical bills?
It's not the hospitals you might expect... More
The monopolization of health care goes beyond hospitals
We know that consolidation among hospitals and insurance companies leads to higher prices. But what about consolidation in other areas of health care? More
Accelerated drug approval has not come with accelerated evidence
Is the FDA's accelerated approval program resulting in better cancer drugs? Two new studies provide insight... More
Is this $2 million gene therapy drug priced “fairly”?
The approval of a new gene therapy to treat spinal muscular atrophy has created a hot debate in the health policy world about whether or not the drug's $2.1 million price tag is too expensive or a fair price. More
Are Fat Hospital Salaries for Doctors Really Kickbacks?
For a hospital that had once labored to break even, Wheeling Hospital displayed abnormally deep pockets when recruiting doctors. To lure Dr. Adam Tune, an anesthesiologist from nearby Pittsburgh who specialized in pain management, the Catholic hospital built a clinic for him to run on its campus in Wheeling, West Virginia. It paid Tune as much as $1.2 million a year—well above the salaries of 90 percent of pain management physicians across the nation, the federal government charged in a lawsuit filed this spring. “If we’re going to solve the health care pricing problem, these kinds of practices are going to have to go away,” said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, a Massachusetts nonprofit that advocates for affordable care. More
Can health journalism be saved?
Popular health news often fails to reflect the incrementalism and nuance of medical discoveries, instead hyping unproven treatments. Can we save health journalism? More
Private equity investments in physician practices and overuse
Physician practices are increasingly being bought up by private equity firms. What does this mean for quality of care and overuse? More
Investigating the “spin cycle” in cardiovascular research
A new study in JAMA shows how often cardiovascular trials contain misleading information... More
Many Anti-Vaxxers Don’t Trust Big Pharma. There’s a Reason for That.
Vaccine opponents often share a conviction that the health care system is more interested in profits and power than helping people. Are they wrong? More
Are government agency workers “here for the right reasons”?
Why the revolving door poses a serious problem for government agency regulation. More
Off-label, on-demand: The problems with drug delivery start-ups
New prescription drug delivery start-ups are bypassing the FDA's regulations on off-label marketing. More
Do you know how much your doctor receives from industry?
Two years after the Open Payments tool was launched, the vast majority of patients still don't know whether their doctor receives money from industry. Why? More
The unspoken rules of politics and medicine
In health care as well as politics, expectations of unethical behavior are often driven by unspoken rules, rather than explicit instructions. More
Outcome misreporting goes ignored by top medical journals
In the COMPare trial, researchers set out to find out how prevalent outcome reporting errors are in major journals, and how these journals respond to criticism. The results were not pretty... More
Esketamine nears FDA approval, prompting both excitement and concern
As the powerful depression drug esketamine nearly FDA approval, some researchers are concerned that the approval would be lowering the bar for clinical evidence. More
Conflicts of interest cloud stroke intervention guidelines
Do financial conflicts play a role in explaining the differences in recommendations for acute stroke interventions between specialty societies? More
Rising price has pushed insulin out of reach for some people
The cost of insulin has increased over 250 percent since 2007, according to the American Diabetes Association, and patients are looking to lawmakers for relief. Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute and co-chairman of the Right Care Alliance both based in Brookline, said a handful of drug companies create an “iron triangle” with insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers that has led to skyrocketing insulin prices. More
The moral price we pay for “innovation”
Our willingness to turn a blind eye to the profiteering of biotech is a moral failing, writes Dr. Vikas Saini in a Commonhealth op-ed. More
Shkreli awards for the worst actors in health care
Unbridled greed and disrespect for human suffering seems to be the driver of all award winners. More