Medical device industry spends more on physician payments than pharma
A recent study finds that medical device companies spend more than pharma on payments to physicians, but spend it in different ways. More
FDA: Make medical apps reliable, not risky
Better regulations and reviews are needed so the FDA can ensure that consumer-facing health and medical apps are safe and effective. More
A year into COVID-19, hospitals find a new normal
After battling the coronavirus for more than a year, Massachusetts hospitals have shifted from managing a raging crisis to incorporating COVID-19 into their daily work. More
UVA Health Will Wipe Out Tens of Thousands of Lawsuits Against Patients
The Virginia hospital giant had already stopped suing patients with less than $107,000 in household income. More
For-profit nursing homes and hospices are a bad deal for older Americans
There is evidence that for-profit nursing homes and hospices are putting profits ahead of people, taking a deadly toll during the pandemic. More
FDA Seeks a New Way to Review Old Drugs Without Causing Prices to Soar
A misguided federal program called the Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which put the FDA’s stamp of approval on old drugs, led to higher prices. It’s scrapped. So now what? More
Coding to Hide Health Prices from Web Searches Is Barred by Regulators
The guidance regarding insurers’ required posting of healthcare prices came after The Wall Street Journal revealed hospitals used such codes on their price pages. More
Are nonprofit hospitals contributing their fair share of financial assistance?
A recent study looks at patterns of charity care spending at public, private, and for-profit hospitals, and finds some interesting results... More
Early results from federal price transparency rule show difficultly in estimating the cost of care
As of January 1, under federal rules issued by the Trump Administration, hospitals are required to publish the price of health services by payer. More
When Births Go Horribly Wrong, Florida Protects Doctors and Forces Families to Pay the Price
A Florida program designed to reduce doctors’ malpractice bills strips families of their right to sue, offering instead a one-time payment and promises to cover medical expenses. Some parents report a bureaucratic nightmare that’s anything but supportive. More
Drug companies keep merging. Why that’s bad for consumers and innovation.
Over 30 years, dramatic consolidation has meant higher prices, fewer treatment options and less incentive to innovate. More
Despite Covid, Many Wealthy Hospitals Had a Banner Year With Federal Bailout
Some of the nation’s richest hospitals and health systems recorded hundreds of millions of dollars in surpluses after accepting the lion’s share of the federal health care bailout grants, their records show. Those included the Mayo Clinic, Pittsburgh’s UPMC and NYU Langone Health. But poorer hospitals — many serving rural and minority populations — got a tinier slice of the pie and limped through the year with deficits, downgrades of their bond ratings and bleak fiscal futures. More
Opinion: The health-care industry doesn’t want to talk about this single word
I will no longer censor myself. More
Boston’s hospital chiefs moonlight on corporate boards at rates far beyond the national level
Hospital chiefs and trustees defend this as boosting public-private partnerships, but critics say these board positions — some paying millions of dollars — raise troubling issues of conflict of interest and hospital priorities. More
United States spent $162 million on remdesivir development but holds no patents, review finds
Members of Congress asked for a GAO review of taxpayer spending that went toward to Gilead's coronavirus drug. More
Medical Device Firm Payments To Physicians Exceed What Drug Companies Pay Physicians, Target Surgical Specialists
Many physicians receive payments from medical device companies that make products physicians can use or recommend. More
‘It Felt Like Deception’: An Elite NYC Hospital Charges Huge Virus Test Fees
Insurers are stuck with the big bills from Lenox Hill, but the public ultimately pays through higher premiums. More
COVID-19 curbed health systems’ charity-care spending in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic kept many patients out of hospitals last year. That meant fewer people qualified for free or discounted care compared with 2019. More
Her Doctor’s Office Moved 1 Floor Up. Why Did Her Treatment Cost 10 Times More?
Same building. Same procedure. Same doctor. But there was an extra "facility fee" because the location changed slightly. A shot that used to cost her about $30 went up to more than $300. More
Does higher hospital CEO compensation mean better quality?
There's nothing wrong with paying a hospital leader for doing a good job, especially in a crisis. But when compensation goes into the millions we have to ask, are we getting what we pay for? More