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A reader writes that defensive medicine now is included in the training doctors receive and is considered the standard of practice, making it difficult to eliminate from the culture of medicine.

A reader writes that the American Board of Medical Specialties is anti-competitive and wields too much power over the medical profession.

A provision of the Affordable Care Act may allow a form of "bare-bones" health plans to remain in effect.

Many organizations are seeking solutions to the impending primary care physician shortage, but should nurse practitioners fill the void?

The World Health Organization states that data for populations with a high-risk of flu complications should be reevaluated.

After they're implemented, health insurance exchanges will have the option to adopt policies that could reshape the financing and delivery of healthcare for years to come. Here's how.

Student loans, debt, underemployment and unemployment are factors in why #younginvincibles may not sign up for health insurance through exchanges.

An executive with the Commonwealth Fund believes that moving the U.S. healthcare system beyond fee-for-service payments requires three essential elements: the carrot, the stick and the muscle.

A letter writer argues for making Medicaid-Medicare reimbursement parity permanent.

With the Affordable Care Act, Americans thought they were getting a socialized safety net, but instead we have gotten a system that has been sold to private corporate interests.

Progress on repealing the sustainable growth rate formula has stalled in Congress due to disagreement over how to pay for it.

Many states are encountering problems in getting the higher Medicaid reimbursements to providers due to them under the Affordable Care Act.

Our coding expert explains the dos and dont's of billing Medicare for telehealth services.

Despite complaints about Medicare's shortcomings, the vast majority of office-based physicians continue to accept new patients covered by Medicare. Similarly, most Medicare beneficiaries are satisfied with their access to medical care.

Burnout and dissatisfaction are all-too-common among primary care physicians, but some practices have found ways to make medicine enjoyable again.

A new policy paper from a research group affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians suggests that more NPs and PAs may not be ready to step in for primary care physicians to relieve the shortage. The reason? Just like doctors, NPs and PAs may increasingly be seeking subspecialty careers that come with better pay and less hassle.

CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, MD's very public transformation into a proponent of medical marijuana has done more than just inspire late-night talk show hosts to joke that his employer should change its name to the "Cannabis News Network."

A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that Americans’ functional measures of health are improving, and more so the further away from death the person is.

When it comes to primary care, the U.S. medical education system isn't getting the job done. The founder of primary care education advocacy group Primary Care Progress shares his ideas on how to change that.

A new study from consumer watchdog group Public Citizen finds that the number and dollar amount of malpractice awards has fallen steadily in recent years, while overall healthcare costs have continued to sore.

A reader argues in favor of removing the prohibition on balance billing,

Group Editor Daniel Verdon says tort reform is just one part of a complex problem encompassing providers, payers, physicians, and the justice system.

New payment models are not only challenging physicians financially, they are confusing. This article will clarify the most popular concepts coming into vogue and will also address some of the key contractual issues these models can generate.

Although a bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives has drawn widespread support for repealing the Sustainable Growth Rate formula, groups representing primary care physicians have raised some concerns.

Although estimates for how much is spent on defensive medicine vary widely, experts agree that the dolllar amount is large.