Senate panel’s health reform bill OK’d with 0.5% Medicare pay hike

Concerns persist about the lack of a permanent pay solution and the addition of provisions that could reduce Medicare pay for physicians after 2010.

850,000 physicians urged to be on lookout for signs of identity theft

Individual BlueCross BlueShield plans are still notifying physicians who may be at risk after a laptop computer containing their identifying information was stolen.

Drug firm sues to end off-label marketing ban

The lawsuit emerges in the debate over whether allowing companies to discuss unapproved drug uses would help or hurt public safety.

Ability to find, afford care is deteriorating in many states

A national scorecard again ranked Vermont's health system No. 1 and Mississippi's last, but all states have room to improve.

Medicare pricing gets new look; RUC process revisited

MedPAC debates how to improve Medicare prices in the short term while it pushes alternative payment structures.