Due to a sharp decrease in deaths resulting from cardiovascular disease, cancer has narrowed the gap and is challenging for the title of the nation’s number-one cause of mortality, according to research published online by the American Heart Association.

Two long-standing approaches to keeping healthcare costs down are on a “collision course” that could leave them both ineffective, according to a recent opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine. Do we have time to course correct or are we left to simply buckle our seatbelts and brace for impact?  

CMS has posted results from its implementation of the ACA’s value-based payment modifier program, and out of more than 13,800 eligible physician groups, just 128 groups—less than one percent—will receive “upward adjustments,” or bonuses, for strong performances. The rate for those adjustments is quoted as 15.92 percent, or 31.84 percent for some groups that treated high-risk beneficiaries.

More than 5,500 diagnosis and procedures codes will be added to the ICD-10 coding system for fiscal year 2017.

Howard P. Kern is the new president and CEO of Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare as of March 4.

Any surgery carries risk, which is why decisions to put patients under the knife should be carefully considered. However, one surgeon is calling attention to the fact that some common procedures end up being about as effective as a placebo procedure would have been—and the placebo would have cost a lot less while doing the patient zero harm.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has joined forces with the Florida Medical Association and Florida Osteopathic Medical Association, and written a letter to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, calling on her to reject the proposed merger of Aetna and Humana.  

Community Care of North Carolina won the inaugural Hearst Health prize on March 8 and $100,000 for excellence in managing or improving health.