Laura Joszt, MA

Hospital super utilizers in Pennsylvania account for $761 million of the state's Medicare and Medicaid expenditures for inpatient stays, according to a new report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.

An analysis of health plans offered through Covered California found some consumers with chronic diseases or those who rely on specialty drugs may have faced access and affordability challenges in 2014.

More than 100 patients may have been infected by a "superbug" bacteria during procedures at the UCLA Health System and 2 have died.

UnitedHealthcare announced that it will nearly double the amount of accountable care organizations it is contracted with in 2015 as it expects to add another 250 ACOs.

The combination of Revlimid with dexamethasone, previously approved for treatment in patients with multiple myeloma who received at least 1 prior treatment, has received FDA approval for use in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.

Cancer patients with less involvement in their treatment decisions are less likely to report excellent quality of care even if they prefer physician-controlled decisions, according to a study in JAMA Oncology.

State and local government healthcare spending grew at a rate of just 3.2% in 2013, which is a sharp decline from the previous 2 years, according to the latest data from CMS.

Amidst changes in healthcare financing and delivery, health plans and providers need to be revising their business models to remain profitable, according to Avalere's healthcare industry outlook for 2015.

More than 375,000 Kentuckians signed up for the state's expanded Medicaid program in 2014, and doing so has saved Kentucky approximately $100 million, according to a new report.

A new study debunks the common assumption that high medical costs are a result of patients demanding more tests and treatments. Researchers analyzed more than 5000 patient-clinician visits and found that cancer patients rarely push for medical interventions.

A new Affordable Care Act initiative from HHS will better coordinate cancer care with the intention of improving the quality of care provided and reducing the money spent on healthcare, according to an announcement from HHS.

A new approach to caring for patients undergoing colorectal surgery has shown faster recovery times, fewer complications, improved patient satisfaction, and reduced medical costs, according to a team of researchers.

Although this year's enrollment period has gone far smoother compared to the first year, there is much room for improvement particularly when it comes to helping consumers make informed decisions, according to a report commissioned by the National Partnership for Women & Families.

Cybersecurity has been at the forefront of people's minds in the wake Anthem's security breach with a new government agency and a new .

Almost 6.5 million individuals using the federally facilitated Marketplace qualify for an average of $268 per person per month in advanced premium tax credits, according to a new report from HHS.

Despite studies suggesting higher spending levels do not necessarily produce better health outcomes, a new paper to be published in the Journal of Political Economy found the opposite to be true with regard to emergency care.

A disease management program at the University of Minnesota revealed only some targeted chronic diseases benefitted from the program while others were unaffected.

Sunday marked the beginning of the last week of open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act, and at last count, 9.9 million individuals had signed up for Marketplace covered, according to numbers from HHS.

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act was dealt 2 swift blows in Republican-led states this week, first in Tennessee and again just a day later in Wyoming.

Anthem reported early Thursday that hackers infiltrated the company, potentially putting as many as 80 million customers' information at risk.

As socioeconomic disparities have grown through Europe and North America, so have mental and physical health inequalities, according to a new paper published in The Lancet.

Panelists at the annual meeting of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology discussed efforts to holistically treat low-income or chronic care populations by taking social determinants of health into consideration.

Although African Americans have had lower colon cancer survival rates over the past 2 decades compared with white patients, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found evidence-based care can remove the racial disparity.

During remarks at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Annual Meeting 2015, HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced a new funding opportunity to achieve interoperability.

Putting data in patient hands, the construction of an open API, and interoperability are big hopes for the future of health information technology (IT), according to panelists at the annual meeting of the Office of the national Coordinator for Health IT.

Health information technology (IT) can create greater healthcare disparities if all patient groups and their concerns aren't considered properly, panelists said on the first day of the annual meeting of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

Addressing primary medication nonadherence through a telephonic intervention from the physicians office was not any more successful than the usual phone calls from the pharmacy.

Although one of the central features of the Affordable Care Act was eliminating discrimination based on preexisting conditions, there is evidence insurers have found ways to dissuade high-cost patients from enrolling in their plans.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has released the first draft of its interoperability roadmap to deliver better care through the exchange and use of health information technology.