Produced by the Lown Institute, the Lown Institute Hospitals Index ranks hospitals using 42 metrics across three major categories: civic leadership, health outcomes, and care value. By using a comprehensive measure that centers racial and ethnic equity, the Index aims to guide hospitals in providing inclusive care for all populations and help hospitals improve the overall health of their communities.
Information is disseminated in the form of an interactive ranking that allows the user to sort and view metrics. Supplemental reports are also available. Data are collected from federal sources including the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and Medicare inpatient data.
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DSOs are overwhelmingly owned by private equity firms. 27 of the top 30 DSOs are private-equity-owned. This amounts to approximately 84% of practice locations that contract with the top 30 DSOs.
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Criticisms of the US Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval process have resurfaced after the recent approval of aducanumab (Aduhelm) for dementia. Elisabeth Mahase finds that the process is plagued by missing efficacy data and questionable evidence.
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Do you sometimes lose your train of thought or feel a bit more anxious than is typical for you?
Those are two of the six questions in a quiz on a website co-sponsored by the makers of Aduhelm, a controversial new Alzheimer’s drug. But even when all responses to the frequency of those experiences are “never,” the quiz issues a “talk to your doctor” recommendation about the potential need for additional cognitive testing.
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Patient advocacy organizations need to shift their paradigm from "any drug at any cost" to "the best drug at the right cost."
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Medical debt and collection actions further perpetuate racial inequities by limiting economic opportunities and further contributing to the wealth divide.
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Disinfecting surfaces does little to curb Covid's spread. So why are two big health nonprofits working with Clorox?
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This Viewpoint discusses the US Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval pathway and proposes the need for reforms as well as the timely completion of postapproval trials.
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"There's been an assumption that these hospitals that don't pay taxes are spared the taxes because they provide a community benefit," said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute.
The institute's analysis shows that is not necessarily the case, Saini said. Nearly three-quarters of private nonprofit hospitals nationwide spent less on community benefits than they received in tax breaks. That translated into a total deficit of $17 billion.
The rate was even higher in New York City, where 33 of 40 private hospitals spent less than they got in tax breaks, the institute's analysis found.
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The value of the nonprofit tax exemption is worth tens of billions to hospitals. But what are we getting back in exchange for this hefty tax break? Watch the launch video for a discussion of community benefit standards, hospital billing practices, and fair share spending with health policy experts.
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Lown calculated a total fair share deficit of $17 billion in 2018, the latest year for which tax forms were available. Individual hospital deficits ranged from a few thousand dollars to $261 million at Cleveland Clinic's main campus.
"What we're finding is, based on the dollar benefit of the non-profit status, there are a lot of hospitals that really aren't meeting that social contract, if you will," said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, a nonpartisan think tank focused on healthcare cost, quality and equity issues.
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Though all nonprofit hospitals enjoy big tax breaks, many fail to make commensurate investments in community health, according to a new analysis from the Lown Institute. The Institute today released Community Benefit findings from its 2021 Hospitals Index, that show nonprofit hospitals collectively failed to invest nearly $17 billion in their communities.
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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.
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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.
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The Biden administration released the first part of regulations to implement a law that bans surprise medical bills, outlining what types of charges will be outlawed starting in 2022.
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Although most well-known patient organizations have important missions and provide invaluable services to patients, many appear unable or unwilling to take positions on consumer issues such as lowering prescription drug prices that might anger their drug corporation funders.
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Plans like United Healthcare say it’s necessary to contain health care costs. Experts say it’s the wrong approach.
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How New Hospital Transparency Regulations Fall Short
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Consumers may think they’re safer or more “natural” than pharmaceuticals, but multiple studies show they are sometimes adulterated with medicines and unknown additives.
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When Aduhelm’s prospects appeared dead, Biogen mounted a secret campaign to resurrect the drug and convince the FDA to approve it.
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