health care quality

The Affordable Care Act made sure that hospitals scoring well on patient satisfaction surveys are paid more by Medicare. But some say that gives small, boutique hospitals an unfair edge.

A state law now requires insurers to reveal prices of their medical tests, and the variation is amazing, bargain hunters say. An MRI of the back is $614 at one place, $1,800 at another.

Residents of an apartment building in Camden, N.J., racked up more than $1 million a year in hospital admissions and trips to the ER over about a decade. In response, a community group opened a doctor's office on the ground floor. But at first, residents weren't as eager to go as doctors had hoped.

The nation's biggest insurer is starting to dole out bonuses and penalties to nearly 3,000 hospitals as it ties almost $1 billion in payments to the quality of care provided to patients.