Policy and Legislation

New regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services require health insurers to spend 80 percent to 85 percent of consumers' premiums on direct care for patients and efforts to improve care quality, starting in 2011.

A national physicians organization says doctors are unhappy with healthcare reform and feel that patient care will suffer as a consequence.

The average per capita cost of healthcare services covered by commercial insurance and Medicare rose 7.08 percent over the past 12 months, according to data released this week by Standard & Poor's.

Donald Berwick, MD, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, faced the Senate for the first time on Wednesday, a few months after President Barack Obama nominated him to the post in a move designed to avoid such a review.

A federal report shows more than 14 percent of Medicare patients who enter the hospital are harmed by errors or oversights before they leave.

Open enrollment began Monday for Medicare in 2011, drawing expectations and trepidation from seniors and doctors. This year, while seniors can look forward to more coverage, doctors face a 25 percent pay cut unless Congress intervenes.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has formally established the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is requesting stakeholders - particularly physicians - to give their two cents on accountable care organizations.

A pilot matching one of New Hampshire's largest insurance companies and its largest healthcare provider could pave the way for the creation of an accountable care organization.

Healthcare reform will emphasize the medical home model, but the nation may not have enough primary care doctors to handle the workload, according to a study by the University of Michigan Health System.