Blog
Biden’s prior authorization reforms divide providers, insurers
A report last week from the Lown Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, found hospitals and physicians performed over 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries on Medicare beneficiaries over three years, based on three years’ worth of Medicare and Medicare Advantage claims data. Those procedures cost Medicare about $2 billion between 2019 and 2022, the report said. More
Five ways to reduce back surgery overuse
The Lown Institute released new data on unnecessary back surgeries in Medicare, identifying 200,000 low-value procedures and $2 billion in Medicare dollars wasted over three years. Back surgery overuse varies widely among states, hospitals, and even doctors in the same hospital. We brought together Dr. Sohail Mirza, orthopedic surgeon and professor at Dartmouth College, and […] More
Medicare pays billions for questionable back surgeries for older adults
A new analysis revealed that Medicare spent roughly $2 billion over three years on unnecessary back surgeries for older adults. This alarming figure comes from research conducted by the nonpartisan Lown Institute think tank. The study examined common procedures including spinal fusion, laminectomy, and vertebroplasty, finding that an unnecessary back surgery is performed on a Medicare beneficiary every eight minutes. More than 200,000 procedures were identified as potentially unnecessary during the study period. More
Unnecessary back surgeries cost Medicare billions
Over 200,000 back surgeries were performed unnecessarily in the United States over the course of three years, according to a new Lown Institute report. In sum, these low-value back procedures cost Medicare about $2 billion after three years, roughly $600 million annually. “We trust that our doctors make decisions based on the best available evidence, but that’s not always the case,” Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute, said in an organizational release. “In spinal surgery, as with other fields of medicine, physicians routinely overlook evidence to make exceptions, sometimes at shockingly high rates. This type of waste in Medicare is costly, both in terms of spending, and in risk to patients.” More
Medicare spent $2B on unneeded back surgeries
Hospitals performed more than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries on Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. over three years, according to a new analysis. More
Top US hospitals and unnecessary back surgeries: How they stack up
In the last three years, U.S. hospitals performed more than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries on Medicare beneficiaries, according to a Nov. 14 report by the Lown Institute Hospital Index. More
PRESS RELEASE: Unnecessary back surgeries cost Medicare up to $600 million annually
Every eight minutes an unnecessary back surgery is performed, costing Medicare $2 billion over the three years studied. More
Do patients in Medicare Advantage plans get better value of care? Yes and no…
Which Medicare Advantage plans do a good job at avoiding overuse for their beneficiaries... and which don't? More
When the hospitals we need the most are the least likely to succeed
Safety net hospitals across the country are facing downgraded services and closures. Meanwhile, more profitable hospitals within the same systems are expanding and growing bigger than ever. Where is this pattern showing up, and how does it impact patients? More
The downsides to breast density notifications
A new rule from the US Food and Drug Administration just went into effect last month, requiring that mammography providers notify patients about their breast density along with their mammogram results. How does this affect patients? More
REGISTER: Webinar on Unnecessary Back Surgery
Register now for the webinar "Unnecessary Back Surgery: Older Americans put at risk while Billions in Medicare funds wasted" on November 14, 2024. More
Hospital community benefit: Five takeaways from our DC summit
Our key takeaways from the recent conference on hospital tax exemptions and community benefit spending, cohosted by the Lown Institute and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. More
Black mothers more likely to get unnecessary C-sections, study says
Are Black mothers more likely to have unscheduled C-sections? A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests yes–and that their likelihood of an unscheduled C-section was greater when there were operating rooms going unused. Same hospital, different c-section rates While C-sections can be a lifesaving option when necessary, they are invasive […] More
Medical debt: North Carolina’s novel approach
A new medical debt relief effort in North Carolina focuses on the impact of changes to financial assistance rather than solely forgiving old medical debt. Here's how they did it.. More
What do the highest-paid nonprofit hospital CEOs have in common?
Nonprofit hospitals are under scrutiny for paying executives millions while cutting jobs and reducing community investment. We examined the top ten highest-paid CEOs from 2021, according to the Lown Hospitals Index, to find out more. More
IRS audits spotlight hospital community benefit spending
Following interest from policymakers on hospital community benefit spending, the IRS announced it will audit 35 hospitals with a focus on community benefit compliance. Here's what you need to know More
Hospitals behaving badly: UPMC, Texas Children’s spending draws scrutiny
Hospitals in the U.S. are continuing to land in hot water for excessive spending on CEO pay and other extravagances at the same time as they face financial challenges and lay off hundreds. More
Can AI help reduce medical debt? It depends on how hospitals use it…
Could AI and other machine learning help ameliorate our nation’s medical debt crisis—or will it make the problem worse? It all depends on how hospitals use these tools, write Kelsey Chalmers, PhD, our own Director of Research, Data Science at the Lown Institute, and Christopher W. Goodman, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, in a recent JAMA Internal Medicine viewpoint. More
Cancer screening costs $43 billion – what do we get for that spending?
A new study estimates that the five most common cancer screenings cost $43 billion in 2021. How exactly was this money spent and where might it have gone instead? More