Austin Littrell

RAND researchers put the same questions to 15 health system–employed primary care physicians and 15 independent ones. Neither model came out ahead on all five findings.

The top news stories in medicine today.

Medicare rates, prior authorization, telehealth and Medicaid coverage all change between Sept. 14, 2026 and Jan. 1, 2028.

Another conversion factor cut is on the table for 2027, and MGMA's Anders Gilberg breaks down why budget neutrality keeps forcing cuts in one specialty to pay for another and what the end of MIPS means for physicians.

The top news stories in medicine this week.

Health care economist Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D., argues that two decades of inflation-eroded Medicare payment, not corporate ownership or management services organizations, is what is pushing independent practices to sell.

Female physicians leave clinical practice at a median age of 49, compared with age 64 for their male colleagues, and the practice patterns patients value most may be part of what drives them out.

The top news stories in medicine today.

A framework published in npj Digital Medicine ranks patient care and staff experience alongside price, and says a health system that cannot score a tool across all five domains may not be ready to buy it.

Overhead swallows roughly 60% of the typical practice's revenue, and most of it sits in a few line items. These nine moves pull real money off that number without touching the exam room — and the biggest lever is the one most owners are slowest to open.

The top news stories in medicine today.

Health care economist Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D., makes the case that fixing Medicare payment, not restricting MSOs, is the way to keep independent practices open.

A new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds most voters believe Medicare and Medicaid fraud comes from the billing side of care, doctors’ offices and hospital systems, rather than from the patients who receive it.

The top news stories in medicine today.

Most physicians know the direct primary care pitch; whether the economics hold up once you're in it is the more difficult question to answer.

Health policy veteran and "Zen Lobbyist" author Gary Jacobs argues that the payment system, not the insurers, is behind a second straight year of double-digit ACA premium increases, and that primary care-led risk is the only durable fix.

The top news stories in medicine this week.

A reimbursement gap of five to 12 times for the same procedure is letting hospitals outbid private practices for their own physicians. Three U.S. Women's Health Alliance advocates explain what it costs patients and what they are asking Congress to do about it.

The top news stories in medicine today.

CMS wants to cut the conversion factor, rewrite the G2211 add-on into a percentage modifier, halve payment for same-day procedures and put an expiration date on traditional MIPS.

The top news stories in medicine today.

Physicians in eight specialties now clear $500,000 a year, and the distance between the top earners and primary care keeps growing.

The top news stories in medicine today.

Independent medical practices face a hard question as consolidation accelerates: keep going it alone, or find a partner. Ziegler's Andy Colbert breaks down what a practice is really worth and how physicians should weigh their options.

The top news stories in medicine this week.

As more physicians weigh a move to concierge or hybrid practices, health care attorney Ericka Adler, J.D., breaks down the contract and Medicare traps that can turn a panel-shrinking strategy into a legal problem.

The top news stories in medicine this week.

Insurers are seeking a median 14% increase for 2027, a jump that would leave typical marketplace premiums more than one-third higher in two years.

New YouGov data rank what patients consider before agreeing to a treatment.

The top news stories in medicine this week.