Why Health Care Costs So Much: $928 Bags of Sugar and Salt

Here's what we're checking out today:

Lung Cancer: Liz Szabo of USA Today examines a new study showing that expensive CT scans can reduce lung cancer deaths by 20 percent (x-rays, apparently, haven't done the trick). Kudos for reporting on why the study results shouldn't immediately spark calls for mass screenings.  

Health Reform: And the analysis of what new Republican power means for health reform continues, with Julie Rovner of NPR examining Congressional hearings and other ways Republicans plan to slow reform's rollout. BNET's Ken Terry also points out that health insurers have just posted "substantial" profit gains, weakening their claims that health reform is forcing them to raise premiums to survive.  

Health Costs: Why do we pay so much for health care? Well, $928 bags of salt and sugar sold by Baxter to Medicaid might be one reason, BNET blogger Jim Edwards explains.

Research: Retraction Watch highlights an unusually candid editorial in the journal Nature about some highly publicized retractions of scientific and medical research in the past year.