Enrolling 600,000 people in an expanded Medicaid program in Michigan resulted in better odds of getting an appointment and didn’t significantly impact wait times, according to a study published in the American Journal of Managed Care.

A recent study has found that if the U.S. healthcare system were its own country, it would rank 13th in the world for greenhouse gas emissions.

Physicians tend to write more prescriptions for antibiotics later in the day, according to a review of prescription data by athenahealth, which may be due to a concept called “decision fatigue.”

In an editorial in Forbes, Dave Chase argues how the healthcare industry has redistributed profits away from employees:

Even when taking into account the aging population, the death rate in the U.S. for 2015 increased for the first time in 22 years, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

An editorial in the Los Angeles Times discusses how "lower prices, better quality” might be something we hear from healthcare providers. 

The concept of value-based health care is rapidly gaining traction in the U.S., yet implementation remains a significant challenge. To establish true pay-for-value system, a national payment rate should be established and rooted in and adjusted for three factors: risk of the patient population, geographic variation in the cost of doing business, and patient outcomes.

CMS has released a request for proposals for hospital improvement plans with the goal of cutting 30-day hospital readmissions by 12 percent and reducing patient harm by 20 percent.