Doctor acquisitions spiked amid the pandemic
Nearly 70% of all U.S. physicians are now employed by hospitals or corporations. More
Despite new regulation, few hospitals are transparent about their prices
Two new studies analyzing hospital price transparency find that fewer than 25% of hospitals are complying with the new CMS rule. More
Is the FDA’s Drug Approval Process Broken?
A Q&A with physician and former FDA advisor Aaron Kesselheim on why he resigned to protest the approval of a new Alzheimer’s drug — and the reforms necessary to prevent it from happening again. 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
Pricey drugs paid by Medicare lack cost-effectiveness data
"Efforts for value-based reforms may be hampered by a lack of cost-effectiveness data," the authors write. More
Device Makers Have Funneled Billions to Orthopedic Surgeons Who Use Their Products
Federal officials say that some of the money changing hands has corrupted doctors and endangered patients. More
Higher prices drove up Medicare drug spending, advisers say
It was not due to higher volumes of filled prescriptions. More
How Patent Extensions Keep Some Drug Costs High
The Biden administration has a chance to help curb drug costs in naming a new patent office director, some experts say. More
RIP Medical Debt Works with Ballad Health to Abolish Over $277M of Medical Debt
Ballad Health and RIP Medical Debt (RIP) announced today a new agreement that will eliminate $277,974,370.31 million worth of non-governmental payer medical debt (i.e., non-Medicare/Medicaid) for approximately 82,000 people previously served by Ballad Health. More
Trump’s FDA commissioner takes job at Moderna backer
Stephen Hahn joins Flagship Pioneering, which launched Moderna a decade ago and made billions from its coronavirus vaccine. 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
If vaccine apartheid exists, vaccine billionaires shouldn’t
Vaccine profits have minted new pandemic billionaires. Only 0.3% of vaccine doses have been given in low-income countries. That's wrong. More
UnitedHealthcare delays ER claims policy following backlash
UnitedHealthcare's new policy, which could reject as many as 1 in 10 claims, was labeled as "dangerous" by the American Hospital Association. More
Pharma funded more than 2,400 state lawmaker campaigns in 2020, new STAT analysis finds
STAT’s findings provide an unprecedented look at drug industry influence in state capitols across the 2020 election cycle. More
These bonuses for doctors create an immoral conflict
Many physicians' bonuses, 73% per data from 2019-2020, are tied to relative value units (RVUs), which measure time, skill and effort for each patient a physician sees. Fewer physician bonuses are tied to quality-of-care measures, or protocols and processes that encourage increased patient safety measures and decreased death rates. More
Fear of the American Health Care System Is Driving Vaccine Hesitancy
People don’t trust an industry known for bureaucratic traps and surprise billing to save them from the pandemic. More
At Georgia immigration jail, warnings about women’s medical care went unheeded
Federal immigration officials failed to monitor medical treatment at a South Georgia detention center where dozens of women say they underwent unwanted procedures, including hysterectomies, newly released documents show. More
‘Outrageous’: why was a US health worker charged with spreading Covid?
Attempt to hold a worker criminally liable for the spread of Covid resulted in Josefina Brito-Fernandez losing her license to work, fearing deportation More