Accountable care organizations (ACOs) were supposed to result in savings for Medicare, but an analysis from Avalere said ACOs in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) have instead increased federal spending—an evaluation a national group of ACOs called “rather simplistic," ignoring positive impacts they've made on quality.

Drug-related deaths more than tripled between 1999 and 2015—and many of those can be attributed to opioids. But the numbers may be more alarming than previously thought, according to a new report from Kaiser Health News and Side Effects Public Media.

Efforts from Republicans in Washington, D.C., failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but that hasn’t stopped some states from taking matters into their own hands. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to sign legislation that would allow insurers to sell certain plans that don’t meet ACA regulations.

Jefferson Health and Einstein Healthcare Network, both based in Philadelphia, have announced they’ve signed a letter of intent to merge, the latest in a string of acquisitions by Jefferson.

Discussions to create the largest hospital system in the country by combining Ascension and Providence St. Joseph Health have ended, with the two companies deciding to focus on restructuring existing operations, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Mergers and acquisitions that have consolidated healthcare markets in California have raised prices for procedures and insurance premiums, especially in the northern part of the state, according to a report from the University of California, Berkeley’s Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare.

American College of Radiology (ACR) CEO William T. Thorwarth Jr., MD, recently penned a letter to Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, R-Louisiana, outlining how recent policies implemented by Anthem negatively impact patient access to advanced imaging provided in hospital outpatient departments.

An election year usually means little movement in Congress on major policies. That’s especially true for hot-button issues in healthcare, according to Tom Nickels, the American Hospital Association’s executive vice president of government relations, meaning major reforms may have to wait until after the midterm election—or perhaps after the next presidential race.