Policy

Final rule reduces burdens to critical access hospitals, rural clinics; loosens physician supervision requirements.

Wayne J. Katon, MD, professor of psychiatry, director of the division of health services and epidemiology, and vice chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington Medical School, says that people with psychiatric illness in primary care settings cost the system twice as much as those without mental illness. Comorbidities such as depression can add to those costs.

States did little to improve healthcare access, quality, costs and outcomes in the past five years, according to a Commonwealth Fund report. Researchers examined 42 health indicators between 2007 and 2012, and found that in many states, access and affordability of healthcare actually declined among adults younger than 65. Healthcare spending rose $491 billion, reaching $2.8 trillion nationally.

Three out of four physicians believe that fellow doctors prescribe an unnecessary test or procedure at least once a week, a survey released Thursday finds.

A federally funded effort to identify high-risk patients and coordinate their care is delivering modest savings, but significant cost reductions may come only after broader payment reforms take hold.

Healthcare reform has led to a resurgence of interest in various types of population-based management tools, according to David Axene, FSA, FCA, CERA, MAAA, in his presentation Innovations in ACO Partner Risk/Revenue Sharing at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians' Spring Managed Care Forum 2014 in Orlando.

With the delay in ICD-10, many insurers now have to slow down a mammoth IT project and, potentially more disruptive, make adjustments to a whole slew of programs and contracts.

Medicaid-financed emergency room costs statewide grew nearly $10 million to $178.3 million in fiscal year 2013.

The expenses associated with cancer care in the United States are staggering and only expected to climb.

People who go to Michigan hospitals seeking treatment for dental conditions that could have been prevented through regular dental care increase health care costs by millions of dollars in the state.

Drug giants AstraZeneca and Pfizer are working on a new clinical trial design, to be launched in Britain in July or August of this year, to include multiple drugs for evaluation in a single trial. This is expected to be both time and cost saving and could significantly hasten drug development.

As the structure of the healthcare system changes rapidly, patient-reported outcomes provide clinicians with a different set of tools for promoting health.

Cancer survivors often encounter a variety of health issues, the most common of which include fatigue, peripheral neuropathy, and depression. To address those specific issues, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has developed 3 new sets of guidelines on cancer survivorship care.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will cost $5 billion less in 2014 than the agency previously estimated. The report further details that an additional 12 million non-elderly Americans will receive coverage this year due to the health law's implementation.

Specialty medications present a challenge for payers as costs for these expensive drugs consume an increasing portion of overall health care spending. In fact, specialty pharmacy spend is expected to rise from $92 billion in 2012 to $235 billion by 2018.

Highlights from recent AJMC conference coverage.

The ASCO task force has identified 3 goals for its strategic value initiative. First is that oncologists will have the skills and tools needed to evaluate the relative value of interventions, and will use these when discussing treatment options with their patients. Second is to have information readily accessible to help patients select high-value treatment that meets their individual needs. Third is to have an algorithm that can be used by those responsible for covering the costs of cancer care to define and assess the value of treatment options.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has launched a strategic initiative to define value in cancer care.

Healthcare spending rose at the fastest pace in 10 years last quarter, a development that could foreshadow higher costs for consumers this year.

As the quality and cost transparency movements gain support within the healthcare industry, a more important question persists: what will actually work for consumers?

Some health systems are moving beyond surgery in serving back pain patients.

This article reviews the mobile clinic sector's impact on access, quality, and costs, and explores postreform opportunities for leveraging them nationally.

Criminals are stealing patient records to commit medical identity theft. And the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made the situation worse, according to a new report from privacy and information security research firm Ponemon Institute.

Edmund J. Pezalla, MD, MPH, national medical director, Aetna Pharmacy Management, says Aetna engages consumers in decision-making in a variety of ways.

Just in case Congress doesn't pass President Barack Obama's fiscal 2015 budget plan, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services say they have other options for finding the money they need to implement the health care law.

Lawmakers in Richmond are deep in budget negotiations and will soon decide which parts of the mental health-care system will receive a funding boost.

Some of the same themes being raised across medicine-how to balance the quality of care with soaring therapy costs, and how to unleash the power of genomics to tailor treatment-were part of Saturday's workshop Hot Topics in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. The session of the American Academy of Pediatrics took place during the 2014 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in San Diego, California.

Although highly touted, the patient-centered medical home model failed to lower use of services or total costs and produced little quality improvement over three years, research has found.

Toby Cosgrove, MD, president and CEO, The Cleveland Clinic, says their organization has implemented a variety of strategies to bend the cost curve.

It's a simple idea, but a radical one. Let people know in advance how much health care will cost them-and whether they can find a better deal somewhere else.