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
One of America's largest hospital chains, Community Health Systems, has filed at least 19,000 lawsuits against patients in the last year, a CNN investigation finds. More
The pandemic stress-tested the way the world produces evidence — and revealed all the flaws. More
This Medical News article is an interview with Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, the Flint, Michigan, pediatrician who discovered elevated blood lead levels among children exposed to the city’s drinking water. More
The FDA collaborated with Biogen to conduct repeated re-analyses of aducanumab for Alzheimer's and FDA committee members are raising concerns. More
The quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) attempts to capture the impact of disease. It's a metric worth improving, not discarding. More
CMS has started issuing its first round of warning letters to hospitals not in compliance with the hospital price disclosure rule, a CMS spokesperson confirmed to Becker's May 5. More
Because there are no caps on cost, consumers and insurers often get billed hundreds of dollars for the most reliable PCR covid test. Prices are rising and they can’t fight back. More
An ambitious expansion plan by Mass General Brigham for Westborough, Westwood, and Woburn has set off a fight about the future of outpatient health care in Massachusetts. Competitors worry that the already dominant health care provider could become even more powerful. More
In a draft report, Boston-based ICER cites conflicting data from two trials. The Cambridge biotech says it “does not accurately reflect the possible holistic value” of the experimental treatment. More
In a draft report, Boston-based ICER cites conflicting data from two trials. The Cambridge biotech says it “does not accurately reflect the possible holistic value” of the experimental treatment. More
Supplements — vitamins, hormones, herbs, enzymes and probiotics — are only lightly regulated, and the existing rules are poorly enforced. The pandemic underlines why this is not a good thing, writes Sarah Green Carmichael in an op-ed. More
The increase in ownership of hospices by private equity (PE) firms and publicly traded companies (PTCs) documented by Braun and colleagues follows almost 2 decades of steady growth of for-profit ownership of hospice agencies, from one-third of hospices in 2000 to almost two-thirds by 2017. More
We asked eight people around the world what they thought. It didn’t go well. More
“We can no longer tolerate the American people paying the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. More
For the first time, each hospital was required to publish a website file showing the payment rates it had negotiated with insurers, and another post that would let consumers search for hundreds of “shoppable’’ medical services. More
A behind-the-scenes war between some of the state’s largest health systems could soon spill into public view at the State Capitol, after months of negotiations broke down over an obscure but bitterly contested topic: non-compete agreements written into doctors’ contracts. More
Florida hospitals rely on the state’s NICA program to protect themselves from costly lawsuits. When parents resist, some of those same hospitals ask a judge to appoint an “independent guardian” to take the decision away. More
Why hasn't the Biden administration ended this self-defeating policy from the Trump administration? More
This cohort study uses national commercial claims data to evaluate the frequency and cost of out-of-network bills for outpatient laboratory services compared with in-network laboratory services. More