Op-ed: Hospitals need to comply with price transparency
As a matter of simple economics, hospital price transparency will improve competition and encourage more equitable pricing. More
Where Are The High-Price Hospitals? With The Transparency Rule In Effect, Colonoscopy Prices Suggest They’re All Over The Place
Although we examined only one common shoppable service in this post, the importance of identifying high-price hospitals is generalizable to a broad range of hospital services. More
Higher Prices for Cancer Surgery at National Cancer Institute–Designated Cancer Centers
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Centers Program, developed as part of the National Cancer Act of 1971, recognizes 71 cancer centers across the US that meet rigorous standards for transdisciplinary and innovative research to develop new and better approaches to preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer. Although this program was developed to advance cancer research, these cancer centers have an important role in translating scientific knowledge into effective treatments for patients with cancer. Moreover, these cancer centers, nearly all part of academic medical centers, attract top clinician researchers and clinician educators who seek to advance both cancer research and clinical care. More
Icahn Mount Sinai and historically Black medical school Meharry partner to address racism, improve diversity in science
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Meharry Medical College, the country's oldest and largest historically Black medical school, are partnering on an initiative that aims to address racism in the sciences and promote inclusion and diversity. More
US hospitals struggle to reduce health disparities: Minority patients underrepresented in 4 of 5 hospitals
Only 29% of hospitals treated a proportion of Black patients that was comparable to the proportion of Black residents living in the community. More
State needs to throw a lifeline to Lawrence General Hospital
The safety net hospital needs financial relief and a change in the reimbursement system. More
Characterization of US Hospital Advertising and Association With Hospital Performance, 2008-2016
This cross-sectional study uses data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to assess whether higher-performing hospitals are more likely to advertise their services directly to consumers. More
Hospitals Have Started Posting Their Prices Online. Here’s What They Reveal
Since January, hospitals were supposed to be disclosing true prices for their services, as a way to empower patients to shop around. Turns out, compliance is spotty and the data can be hard to find. More
N.J. hospitals can now build housing for those experiencing homelessness, connecting need to services
The idea is that permanent, stable housing is a key to good health More
Doctor acquisitions spiked amid the pandemic
Nearly 70% of all U.S. physicians are now employed by hospitals or corporations. More
The Covid-19 relief bill created 1,000 more residency slots for new doctors. Wealthy hospitals should be last in line to get them
The 1,000 new residency slots funded by the American Rescue Plan should go first to hospitals in rural, underserved, and tribal areas. More
Hemmed In at Home, Nonprofit Hospitals Look for Profits Abroad
Across the street from the Buckingham Palace Garden and an ocean away from its Ohio headquarters, Cleveland Clinic is making a nearly $1 billion bet that Europeans will embrace a hospital run by one of America’s marquee health systems. More
In Health Care, More Money Is Being Spent On Patients’ Social Needs. Is It Working?
Eager to control costs and sickness, hospitals and insurers are trying to help patients access better food, housing and transportation. But so far there is little research showing these efforts work. More
‘Nobody is catching it’: Algorithms used in health care nationwide are rife with bias
A new report finds bias is pervasive in algorithms used by hospitals and insurers. It also offers a playbook on how to fix those flaws. More
Breaking Links in the Chain of Racial Disparities for COVID-19
The burden of COVID-19 in the United States has fallen disproportionately on Black and Hispanic/Latino individuals. More
Some Hospitals Kept Suing Patients Over Medical Debt Through the Pandemic
Court actions by hospitals to collect patient debt dropped sharply during the pandemic. But a new study says some of the nation’s largest hospital systems kept filing lawsuits, liens and garnishments — and most were nonprofit. More
Early Hospital Compliance With Federal Requirements for Price Transparency
This cross-sectional study assesses compliance within a random sample of hospitals with a federal rule requiring hospitals to disclose the prices they negotiate with insurers. More
Shuttered hospitals, soaring Covid-19 deaths: Rural Black communities lose a lifeline in the century’s worst health crisis
“I hate that it closed,” Latasha Taylor said. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense. Why would you close a hospital in the middle of a pandemic?” More
Colorado Will Pay Hospitals to Close Expensive Free-Standing ERs
Colorado health officials so abhor the high costs associated with free-standing emergency rooms they’re offering to pay hospitals to shut the facilities down. The state wants hospitals to convert them to other purposes, such as providing primary care or mental health services. More
Buoyed by Federal Covid Aid, Big Hospital Chains Buy Up Competitors
The pandemic barely dented the financial outlook for some major networks, which continued to acquire weaker hospitals and ailing doctors’ practices. Critics worry consolidation leads to higher prices for medical care. More