The killing of United Health CEO Brian Thompson triggered an uproar from the many Americans frustrated with the failures of our health care system. In a recent op-ed in the Boston Globe, Lown president Dr. Vikas Saini shares his take on this important moment and the changes we need to build a radically better health […] More
Physicians and medical students of the AMA recently voted in favor of stronger financial assistance standards. Why are stronger standards needed, and how could this help relieve medical debt for patients? More
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
Every eight minutes an unnecessary back surgery is performed, costing Medicare $2 billion over the three years studied. More
Which Medicare Advantage plans do a good job at avoiding overuse for their beneficiaries... and which don't? More
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health care company, is under fire for allegedly encouraging clinicians to overdiagnose peripheral artery disease in their Medicare Advantage patients to inflate profits. What does Lown data have to say about this situation? More
340B is more than a big pile of money. The program is a band-aid covering up huge problems with our health system that can no longer be ignored. The 340B drug discount program is a hugely important policy issue for hospitals and drug companies, but the most of the rest of us have never heard of it or barely understand it. Why is pharma and the hospital industry getting so worked up about 340B, and how does any of this matter? Here’s what you need to know about a growing policy battle… More
Five years after the Lown Institute’s report on medication overload was published, this issue continues to be relevant in American health care. What are the harms of medication overload, how can you avoid it, and what policy changes do we need? More
Here's how seven health care systems currently or recently owned by private equity firms performed on outcomes, value, and equity on the Lown Index... More
Are higher-income patients at higher risk for overuse? A recent study in Health Affairs considers the relationship between patient income and value of care. More
Some hospitals in the same cities have very different policies for large bill assistance. Here are a few examples from the recently released Lown Institute data set. More