Suppose you are an individual who makes $21,870 per year, or 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL), and have come to the hospital for treatment. Would you be eligible for financial assistance to help these expenses? It depends on where you live. More
Non-financial measures should be part of the conversation when setting CEO pay, said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, a Massachusetts-based group that evaluates executive compensation, but there's virtually no public information on exactly how nonprofits grade their CEO's performance on things like quality, safety and patient experience. More
In terms of “how well hospitals invest in community health,” a health-focused think tank, the Lown Institute, graded our three hospitals as average: Hartford Hospital earned a B grade, and the University of Colorado Hospital and the vaunted Cleveland Clinic both earned a C. More
Emerging evidence shows that the influence of private equity in healthcare demands attention. Here’s what’s in the latest research. More
Last Tuesday, we revealed the winners of the 7th Annual Shkreli Awards. As shocking as that list is, what's even worse is that it's only the short list of all our nominees... More
Academic medical centers in Massachusetts are often ranked among the best in the nation, but data gathered by the Lown Institute of Needham suggests they lag behind their peers nationally in several key categories. More
Hospital watchdogs have started collecting valuable data on hospital billing practices. Here are the results from one such study. More
A top New York hospital that long shielded an ob/gyn from complaints of sexual abuse and a large non-profit Catholic health system that paid its CEO $35.5 million for one year topped this year's "Shkreli awards' More
The 7th Annual list contains the "most egregious examples of profiteering and dysfunction in healthcare," decided by a panel of 19 judges who are patient activists, clinicians, health policy experts and journalists. The awards are organized by Lown Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that measures hospitals' and health systems' social responsibility. "When you see all these stories in one place, they stop being anecdotes and start to tell a bigger story," Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute, said. "The need for more fairness and integrity in U.S. healthcare couldn't be clearer." More
A $35 million CEO salary, hospitals that hawk medical credit cards, and a physician placing 41 stents in a single patient are among this year’s winners. BOSTON, MA – The Lown Institute, a healthcare think tank, has released the seventh edition of its Shkreli Awards, given each year to perpetrators of the most egregious examples […] More
A top ten list of the worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in health care, named for the infamous "pharma bro" Martin Shkreli. More
A new analysis finds that electronic health records don't always know when patients have died. Why does this happen and how can we reduce these EHR inconsistencies? More
A crucial part of hospitals’ social mission is providing care to all who need it, regardless of their ability to pay. But is that actually happening? More
Since 2021, CMS has required hospitals to publish pricing information online. What are the latest updates on these rules, and what drives hospitals to comply? More
Two new reports — one from Bernie Sanders' Senate committee and one from the American Hospitals Association — provide very different views on hospital community benefit spending. Here’s what you need to know. More
What can policymakers do about this issue to protect patients from medical debt and ensure hospitals are giving back their fair share to communities? Here are some proposals that could move the needle... More
How often are these procedures happening, and where? How much are we wasting on these low-value services? And what can we do to prevent unnecessary care? More
CMS just announced AHEAD, a new model of care for states that provides an alternative to traditional fee-for-service payment. What does this model entail and how will it impact hospitals? More
The list of ten drugs for Medicare price negotiation has been published! What do we know about these Medicare "blockbusters"? And how are drugmakers taking the news? More
Arnold Ventures (AV) has recently supported the Lown Institute with grant funding for two projects, allowing the organization to significantly expand its research into the financial behavior of U.S. hospitals. More