Policy and Legislation

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with several key initial partners launched Million Hearts, an initiative announced Tuesday that aims to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years.

Increasingly, questions are being raised about the overtesting of older patients, part of a growing skepticism about the widespread practice of routine screening for cancer and other ailments of people in their 70s, 80s and even 90s.

Kaiser Health News has an interesting piece in which it quotes the answers of six health care system “experts” to what happens if the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate is found unconstitutional.

At the beginning of August, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued its final rule updating Medicare inpatient payment policies and rates for hospitals in fiscal year 2012, and some observers were surprised by the results.

All healthcare spending in the United States is projected to grow at an annual average rate of 5.8 percent for the period 2010 through 2020, according to a report released in late July by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Healthcare industry watchers are bracing for cuts to government sponsored healthcare programs once the so-called “Super Committee” begins working on ways to slash another $1.5 trillion from the budget over the next ten years.

A ruling made by the California Supreme Court in June may be binding only in that state but it has implications for doctors across the country.

It's been a GOP festival this week. With the Republican presidential debates in full swing Monday through Friday, the six leading contenders must now put forth their healthcare reform plans.

Like other industry sectors, healthcare will reduce costs by driving quality as it rolls out ACOs and other health reform components, says CMS chief Donald Berwick.

Increased consolidation of health plans could benefit consumers by helping to drive hospital costs lower, according to a new study by RAND Corp.