This brief analyzes the latest CDC data on adolescent overdose deaths, finding that from 2022 to 2023, there was a small reduction in overdose fatalities among adolescents (from 721 to 708 deaths). Additionally, the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, has largely driven the increase in adolescent drug fatalities since the pandemic began, accounting for 76% of these…
ADAIR, Iowa — The blue-and-white highway sign for the eastbound rest stop near here displays more than the standard icon of a person in a wheelchair, indicating facilities are accessible to people who can’t walk. The sign also shows a person standing behind a horizontal rectangle, preparing to perform a task. The second icon signals…
Authority built on information control cannot survive in the age of AI and instant access. But authority built on wisdom, judgment, empathy, and genuine partnership? That’s eternal. And it’s exactly what patients have been asking for all along. The post The Doctor’s Monopoly Is Dead and We’re All Better For It appeared first on MedCity…
If enacted, the GOP’s spending bill would kick more than 10 million Americans off Medicaid. Experts are worried about the major spike in uncompensated care that hospitals would have to provide — and they’re warning that this change will result in major revenue losses for hospitals, facility closures, higher premiums for commercially insured patients, and…
By JASON HINES This is Part 2 of Jason and Gigasheets’ investigation into the Capital Women’s Care vs UnitedHealthcare contract dispute in which (partially at my request) he expanded the investigation to look at other providers in the same market. Revealing stuff!–Matthew Holt While Capital Women’s Care (CWC) battles UnitedHealthcare over contract terms, a deeper look at…
Federal officials resolved more than a decade ago to crack down on whopping government overpayments to private Medicare Advantage health insurance plans, which were siphoning off billions of tax dollars every year. But Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials have yet to demand any refunds — and over the years the private insurance plans…
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Health Care as a Human Right If there is anything to take away from my over half a century of professional experience at the crossroads of law, medicine, and health care…
Recent trends in healthcare utilization and spending suggest that most spending on health services exceeds pre-pandemic levels and health costs are growing at a faster rate than in recent years. However, utilization of care has been uneven by setting and market. For example, some measures of hospital utilization remain lower than pre-pandemic levels, which could…More
Healthcare is a highly regulated industry, and any use of AI within it is dealing with the most sensitive data. In order to ensure you’re not putting you, your company or patients at risk, consider an evaluation framework for any AI tool that considers these three things. The post From FOMO to FOMU: A Framework…
This brief provides the most recent data on the extent to which non-pediatric physicians are opting out of Medicare, by specialty and by state.