US headache sufferers get $1 billion worth of brain scans each year
One in eight visits to a a doctor for a headache or migraine end up with the patient going for a brain scan, at a … Read more
Medicare
White House: Six Economic Benefits of the Affordable Care Act
This week has seen the release of a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis that refuted claims by opponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that it is … Read more
More targeted radiation ups survival in head, neck cancer patients
Patients with cancers of the head and neck who received intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) – a technology designed to more precisely target cancer cells and … Read more
Half of Psychiatrists Want Cash, Reject Insurance
Access to mental health care has become a prominent issue in Congress following mass shootings around the country. But a new study in JAMA Psychiatry, … Read more
High Medicare spending on prostate cancer screenings, but little benefit for older men
Prostate cancer screening has little benefit for men aged 75 and older, yet over three years, the Medicare fee-for-service program spent $447 million annually on … Read more
Drug substitutions could mean big savings for patients, gov’t
As everyone knows, medications are expensive, and even with insurance coverage, patients’ out-of-pocket drug costs can be quite hefty. This holds true for individuals with … Read more
People are remaining healthier later in life
A new study, conducted by David Cutler, the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, shows that, even as life expectancy has increased over the past … Read more
Fewer Americans undergoing lower limb amputation
There have been dramatic decreases in the number and severity of lower limb amputations over the past decade, according to a new study published in … Read more
Pleasure response from chocolate: You can see it in the eyes
The brain’s pleasure response to tasting food can be measured through the eyes using a common, low-cost ophthalmological tool, according to a study just published … Read more
Millions pass up free health subsidy
Millions of seniors are turning down free money. The Low Income Subsidy for Medicare Part D is a rare beast in economics research. The subsidy … Read more
U.S. hospital admission rates linked with high readmissions
High hospital readmission rates in different regions of the U.S. may have more to do with the overall high use of hospital services in those regions than with the severity of patients’ particular conditions or problems in the quality of care during and…
