Healthcare Systems & Policy

Overtreatment can pose a huge harm to patients, with the complications worse than the original problem at times. Consider arthroscopic surgery for knee pain.

U.S. spending on health care alone is large enough to make it the world's fifth largest economy. A more thoughtful, evidence-driven approach to delivering care could curb such staggering statistics.

Can you imagine a lawyer stopping in the middle of a divorce deposition to type up everything that was just said? Why then do we ask doctors to do such rote tasks?

The last major insurer selling ACA plans in Iowa has threatened to pull out. A 16-county region in Tennessee isn't doing much better. Meanwhile, Nevada just added two plans to its state exchange.

California and Michigan offer real-world laboratories for state policies that clamp down on vaccine exemptions, and the early results are very encouraging.

The historic defeat sent a signal to politicians that everyone needs health coverage, comprehensive benefits, and sick people can’t be left out.

In Bakersfield, Calif., researchers found 30-day readmission rates dropped significantly when pharmacists where given a larger role in caring for patients.

Why not allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices? Economists such as Neeraj Sood worry such a move would hamper crucial innovations over time. But not everyone agrees.

Should medical residents still be allowed to work 28-hour shifts? One doctor recounts her exhausting, nightmarish shift in the ER as an example of what can go wrong as the hours stretch on.

AP journalist Meghan Hoyer provides an updated dataset and guide to help reporters better understand the role played by Medicaid in their local California communities.