Health care spending grew more slowly in the past two years than it has in over five decades. Even with health care costs growth slowing, the U.S. still devotes 18 percent of its economy to the sector, more than most other industrialized countries. These charts explain how that happened, what drives up health care costs and whether they'll continue to slow in years to come.
The Medical City at Lake Nona will make a giant step forward, changing the local medical landscape and establishing Central Florida as a leading biosciences destination. Hot winds will prevail as the state argues against President Barack Obama's health-reform law in the U.S. Supreme Court this spring. Meanwhile, heated debates will also take place in Tallahassee as lawmakers hammer out guidelines for Medicaid and Medicare spending.
Physicians, under pressure from health plans to curb costs, have less time for, and patience with, persistent sales pitches. The government has been cracking down on aggressive, illegal marketing of drugs for unapproved uses. And drug makers, unable to bring enough new products to market to fully offset patent losses, have been forced to tighten belts. As a result, the industry has slashed 33,000 sales jobs in the U.S. from its peak five years ago, when 105,000 representatives flooded the zone.
The Justice Department has filed its brief on the question of whether it is constitutional to compel Americans to obtain minimum health insurance, its first legal document explaining the federal government's case supporting the health reform law in preparation for arguments before the Supreme Court in March. The 130-page brief filed Jan. 6 adheres to arguments it used in lower courts to support the individual mandate, one of four legal questions that attorneys will argue before the Supreme Court. Justice will file briefs on the other three legal questions over the next month.
Gov. Steve Beshear on Monday stood behind his decision to reject the controversial merger of University Hospital with two other hospitals, saying he wasn't satisfied with ideas suggested last week to overcome his objections. University Hospital, Louisville's main safety-net hospital for the poor, had hoped to merge with Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare and St. Joseph Health System. But Beshear rejected that proposal Dec. 30, citing legal and policy problems, including loss of control of a public asset and church-and-state issues.
According to experts in healthcare law and information privacy and security, healthcare IT managers can expect to see more patient data breaches in 2012, along with more lawsuits filed by patients as the availability of patient information exchanged over social media sites and mobile devices grows. These conclusions, published by ID Experts, offer a glimpse into what health CIOs can expect as they seek to protect patient data during a year that promises more of the same challenges they faced last year.