The federal government, after several years of debate, is taking an aggressive stance toward the hospital industry and proposing to lower what it pays for routine doctor visits at hospital outpatient departments.
The bottom line: Medicare is tired of paying hospitals higher rates for services that used to be done in cheaper settings, like a doctor's office. Expect hospitals to fight this tooth and nail.
Research continues to show varied results on the question of whether e-cigarettes can help tobacco smokers quit, although recent evidence appears to be leaning toward the "no" side.
Why it matters: If vaping can help smokers quit, it could save some of the 480,000 Americans who die yearly from tobacco-related conditions. But, even if they can help smokers quit, there's also indications e-cigs are ushering in a new generation of adolescents hooked on nicotine who may be more likely to start smoking tobacco later.
Young people have more medical debt than older people, even though they tend to spend much less on health care, according to a new study published in Health Affairs.
By the numbers: About 16% of consumers have an unpaid medical bill, the study says, adding up to roughly $81 billion. Most of those individual bills were for less than $600.
