The latest diagnostic technologies, including imaging advances such as beta-amyloid PET scans of the brain, hold the promise of helping avoid misdiagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease. A new study shows the resulting savings in more appropriate utilization of resources could help Medicare steer clear of needlessly spending anywhere from $9,500 to more than $14,000 per initially misdiagnosed patient per year.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the subsidies offered as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be available nationwide, regardless of whether they are used to buy health insurance on an exchange established by the federal government or an individual state.

We find ourselves in the familiar position of waiting on a major decision from Washington, D.C., that could have major implications on U.S. healthcare. Unlike the debates in the legislature earlier this year to settle the “doc fix” saga, this time we are waiting on the judicial branch to decide the future of the Affordable Care Act.

The latest installment of the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report, a report sent to Congress on an annual basis as mandated by the American Healthcare Research and Quality Act (AHRQ), paints an optimistic picture of progress while acknowledging that efforts to reduce disparities must continue.

After a series of delays, it looks like the U.S. healthcare system will finally upgrade to the ICD-10 coding standard on Oct. 1. While there’s no political will to push back the rollout any further, a new bill introduced in the U.S. House looks to implement a transition period that would protect reimbursements when inaccurate codes are submitted.

Right up until the Senate officially sealed the fate of Medicare’s flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) with a 92-8 vote late Tuesday night, it was easy to see how it all might unravel. The Senate had already pushed the vote back as far as possible due to a two-week recess, concerns about the repeal bill’s cost were becoming more vocal, and six amendments were to be voted on before the final SGR repeal vote

It came down to the wire, but late Tuesday night the Senate passed a bill that would repeal the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula by a vote of 92-8. The historic vote sent the bill to President Obama and will finally end a series of temporary fixes that annually threatened physician payments.

Optimism was running high this week that legislators would finally find a way to permanently repeal the flawed SGR formula. But on Friday, we learned the Senate would not take up a vote on the bill that would eliminate the SGR until after their two-week recess—meaning we’ll be blowing right past that “deadline” for physician payment cuts.