Our recent report found that more than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries took place over a three year period, costing Medicare more than $1.9 billion. But what about the physicians responsible for this overuse? More
These hospitals are bucking the trend of back surgery overuse with rates below 5% for both spinal fusion and vertebroplasty. More
Spine surgeon Dr. Eugene Carragee reviews the evidence for vertebroplasty. More
Death rates from fall injuries among older Americans more than tripled over the past 30 years. Medications that act on the central nervous system could be the culprit... More
CMS estimated that regulating the radiation dose of CT scans could prevent nearly 14,000 cancers and save $5 billion. So why is CMS considering loosening regulations? More
Hear from Lown's 2025 data science intern, Maya Balaban, about what she's been working on. More
As we prepare for the launch of our 2025 report on unnecessary back surgery, let’s take a moment to check in on the current state of medical overuse in America. More
US News & World Report just released their list of “best hospitals” for 2025-26, which is based primarily on patient outcomes for complex specialty care and common procedures. The Lown Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility takes a different approach to hospital ranking, evaluating hospitals on metrics of equity and value as well as outcomes. Here's how the 2025 US News best hospitals perform on the Lown Index. More
See which critical access hospitals made our list of most socially responsible hospitals…and which ones are at risk of shutting down services or closure. More
A federal judge recently struck down a rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) seeking to remove medical debt from credit reports. How will this affect medical debt in the future? More
Hospital leaders explained how their institutional culture, policies, and workforce help them deliver high-quality and high-value care while still prioritizing equity. More
Register now for the webinar "America's Most Socially Responsible Hospitals" on June 25, 2025. More
“We’re all here because this issue is a moral stain on the fabric of the country… We’re also here because if we want to fix this, we can," Dr. Vikas Saini told the crowd at the 2025 Lown conference on Medical Debt in America. More
Hospitals in 18 states own a total of $170 billion in assessed real property value and benefit from a total of $4.3 billion in real estate tax exemptions. However, this benefit is not spread out equally among states. More
These 20 hospitals avoided nearly $1 billion in property taxes. More
Register now for the 2024 Shkreli Awards, hosted on January 7, 2025 at 1pm More
Register now for the webinar "Unnecessary Back Surgery: Older Americans put at risk while Billions in Medicare funds wasted" on November 14, 2024. More
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
Join us as we review the results of the 2024 Lown Institute Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility rankings! More
Register now for the webinar "America's Most Socially Responsible Hospitals" on June 25, 2024. More