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Where a person lives seems to have an effect on Medicare spending. But why?

Health Differences May Explain Medicare Spending Variation

Waste and aggressive treatment might not explain Medicare cost variations after all. Differing levels of health by region could account for most of the cost variation, an analysis finds.

A construction worker paints walls at the Maryland Proton Treatment Center in Baltimore. Each of the center's five rooms will contain a massive piece of equipment that will rotate around a cancer patient to deliver a special kind of radiation.

Proton Beam Therapy Sparks Hospital Arms Race

Local officials in Washington D.C., are on the verge of approving two high-tech radiation facilities for treating cancer at a total cost of $153 million. The treatment these hospitals would offer costs twice as much as standard radiation, but hasn't been shown to work any better for most cancers.

Evidence is growing that bariatic surgery reduces health risks of obesity.

For Many, Affordable Care Act Won't Cover Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery has a good track record in combating the health risks of obesity. But new health exchanges in Mississippi and other Southern states won't pay for it, even though those states have some of the nation's highest rates of obesity.

Advocates Say Flu Vaccine Should Be Mandatory For Health Workers

A voluntary approach to flu vaccination of health care workers has fallen short. To protect patients, vaccination should be mandatory, consumer and business groups said in Washington. They back a requirement for annual vaccination of all health workers with only limited exemptions.

Maria Villa has her pregnant belly examined in 2009.

Gaps In Maternity Coverage For Some Women Could Grow Under Health Law

Women's health advocates hope that the law's coverage requirements will encourage large companies to step up to the plate and provide maternity benefits for dependents.

Drivers under 25 are more likely to send text messages and make calls behind the wheel. They're also less able to handle distractions while driving.

Distractions Come Naturally To Teenage Drivers

The prefrontal cortex, the brain's executive control center, develops more slowly than the limbic system, which controls arousal and reward. The mismatch makes it harder for teens to maintain concentration behind the wheel.

Women pay extra for the coverage, but not for much longer.

Health Insurance Prices For Women Set To Drop

Women spend $1 billion more annually on their health premiums than they would if they were men. But under the recently upheld health law, insurers won't be allowed to charge higher rates based on gender starting in 2014.

Taking a pill for cancer can cost patients more than getting chemotherapy by IV.

Cost Of Cancer Pills Can Be Hard For Medicare Patients To Swallow

How some insurers pay for treatments means that cancer pills can wind up costing a patient more than an IV. Some states have passed laws to make sure that patients don't have to pay more to take pills. But those laws don't apply to Medicare.

Traditional Medicare doesn't pay for hearing aids, so some in Congress would like to give purchasers a tax break.

Tax Aid For Hearing Aids? Maybe

Bipartisan bills are pending again in both the House and Senate to give buyers of hearing aids a small tax break. But, once again, it looks as though the legislation has a long way to go before it could become law.

Jackson Memorial Hospital is preparing for more Medicaid patients by renovating rooms. Jackson is the area's safety net hospital, which means it doesn't receive reimbursement for quite a bit of the care it gives.

Medicaid And A Tale Of Two Miami Hospitals

Even as Florida leads the Supreme Court challenge against the federal health law, a private and a public hospital both prepare for an influx of new patients if the law's Medicaid expansion survives.

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