Laura Joszt, MA

HHS has announced goals and a timeline to move Medicare toward a quality-based payment system and away from the current fee-for-service payments.

Drug and device companies are adapting changing consumer and insurer focus and report being more willing to have their products be judged on both clinical and economic value.

The launch of HealthCare.gov will likely always be remember for the numerous glitches and flaws that bogged down enrollment and the question of who is really to blame for the poor rollout remains.

Transparency throughout the healthcare system could produce safer care, better outcomes, and reduced costs of care, according to a new report from the National Patient Safety Foundation's Lucian Leape Institute.

Analysis of State Health Innovation Plans, funded by CMS, shows a variety of emerging approaches to healthcare reform. Accenture has identified the top 5 projected investment areas.

The Affordable Care Act's mandate to increase Medicaid reimbursement to primary care providers has improved access to care for Medicaid enrollees, according to analysis of early evidence published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Newly elected Arkansas Gov Asa Hutchinson said he wants to continue the state's Medicaid expansion compromise through December 31, 2016, but he is keeping his options open for a new plan in the future.

In Tuesday night's State of the Union address, President Barack Obama did not spend a lot of time discussing healthcare, but he did highlight medical research and a growing field of medicine by announcing his new Precision Medicine Initiative.

Working collaboratively leads to more accurate diagnoses and may help reduce medical errors, according to a study published in JAMA.

When discharge summaries contain detailed information and are sent quickly to primary care physicians, they can help reduce hospital readmissions, according to studies from researchers at Yale School of Medicine.

A new pay-for-performance method would adjust payments in such a way that providers would not be discouraged from caring for disadvantaged patients, according to researchers at RAND.

Since Express Scripts announced its exclusivity agreement with AbbVie for its hepatitis C drug, other pharmacy benefits managers and insurers have picked sides. But are the deals a good thing?

Although more than 70% of physicians use electronic health records, up to half don't routinely receive the patient information needed to coordinate care effectively.

Population health management programs are paying off, according to a survey of healthcare managers. More than half of respondents expect to recoup investments into these programs within 3 to 4 years, KPMG LLP found.

As the US sits firmly in the middle of peak flu season, a report published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that this season's flu vaccine is only 23% effective at preventing the virus.

Marilyn B. Tavenner, the administrator of CMS, announced on Friday that she will be stepping down from her position at the federal agency.

Expanded insurance coverage has not only brought a significant decline to the uninsured rate, but also reduced cost-related access to care issues, according to the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey, 2014.

The United States could save approximately $375 billion annually by simplifying the nation's complex, multi-payer way of financing care, according to a study published in BMC Health Services Research.

Involving the pharmacy benefits manager earlier in the decision-making process could lead to cost savings on cancer treatments, Express Scripts Chief Executive Officer George Paz said at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, California.

Older adults with diabetes are being overtreated for their condition, leading to harmful outcomes such as hypoglycemia, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Not only do a majority of older patients expect e-prescriptions, but 81% preferred e-prescriptions to paper in a study published in the Perspectives in Health Information Management.

The number of cancer survivors may be on the rise, but they experience continuing issues that can impair their quality of life beyond 5 years of survival, according to a new study published in Cancer.

Interferon-free combination therapy in hepatitis C patients who undergo liver transplantation can eliminate the virus, according to 2 studies published in Gastroenterology.

Studies from RAND and the Urban Institute estimate that eliminating subsidies for the federally facilitated Marketplaces would increase premiums between 35% and 47% and cause at least 8.2 million people to drop coverage.

The FDA approved on Thursday a new anti-clotting drug to reduce the risk of stroke and dangerous blood clot in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

If the Supreme Court invalidates Affordable Care Act subsidies for consumers on the federal exchange, states without their own Marketplaces will be unlikely to stave off "immediate destabilization" of their insurance market, according to experts.

Although HHS recently submitted its proposed rule for stage 3 meaningful use, which doesn't begin until 2017, the program continues to be an issue for providers and hospitals.

HHS has submitted a proposed rule for stage 3 of meaningful use for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, which includes changes to the reporting period, timelines, and structure of the program.

By the end of 2014, the uninsured rate among American adults was down to just 12.9% compared with 17.1% when the Affordable Care Act's requirement for Americans to be covered went into effect a year prior.

The percentage of people with high medical costs increased from 2007-2009 to 2011, but the Affordable Care Act's coverage provisions should substantially reduce cost burdens for many people, according to a Commonwealth Fund study.