Insights

Like fashion and football, health care has its trends. And one of the bigger trends now is “hot-spotting,” the practice of using data to identify those who are the “super utilizers” of the health care system and surrounding them with services in an attempt to cut health care spending. ...

Check out this week's jobs in the health journalism field, and for journalists who cover issues in aging or work for ethnic media outlets, don't forget to apply to the the Journalists in Aging Fellows program this week.

Last week, the Health Officers Assoc. of California announced it will launch a continuing medical education program for valley fever. It shouldn't have required widespread press and the new U.S. House majority leader to get to this point.

A new collaboration among media outlets is building a new database of health care prices by asking people to share how much they paid for common procedures. The results could shed light on how much services typically cost, and eventually help bring costs down.

New data show that tax credits have dramatically lowered premiums for those on Obamacare plans. But for employees stuck with high-deductible plans, big out-of-pocket costs can drain bank accounts and incentivize going without care.

Take a look at this week's new listings for radio, online and magazine positions in public and private organizations.

It's well-known that toxic stress and childhood adversity can lead to poorer health. But sobering new research focusing on the tips of chromosomes finds that a child’s experience of traumatic, violent family events can impact kids at the most basic cellular levels.

The American Academy of Pediatrics announced a new policy this week urging parents to read to their kids starting at birth, and for pediatricians to recommend the practice during doctor visits. The policy reflects recent research that stresses the importance of early literacy in child development.