In 2005, the U.S. spent $6,041 per capita on health care--more than double the median per capita spending ($2,922) of the 30 industrialized countries that form the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The next "Talking Health" webcast for journalists?this Friday, Nov. 21, at noon Eastern--will look at what lies ahead for health reform.

The soaring costs of health care and stagnant household incomes are leaving many working families without insurance or with medical expenses that consume a large share of their budgets.

A recent study found that managing type 2 diabetes with the aid of an automated telephone self-management tool, plus nurse care management, was comparable in cost and outcomes to other accepted diabetes-management interventions.

Compared to patients in seven other countries, chronically ill adults in the United States are far more likely to forgo care because of costs; they also experience the highest rates of medical errors, coordination problems, and high out-of-pocket costs, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund.

A 2008 survey of chronically ill adults in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States found major differences in health care access, safety, and efficiency, with U.S. patients at particularly high risk of forgoing care because of costs and experiencing errors or inefficient, poorly organized care.

A multiyear analysis of Medicare's "national coverage decisions"--policies for reimbursing health care providers for particular medical services--shows that the program considers the available evidence "fair" or "poor" for most medical technologies it reviews.

A new Commonwealth Fund survey of chronically ill patients in eight industrialized nations--Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States--finds that those in the U.S. are by far the most likely to forgo care because of the cost, as well as the most likely to experience medical errors, care coordination problems, and high out-of-pocket costs.

A look at the Indian Health Service's use of clinical data and community partnerships to improve care; a case study of one clinic's experience in creating medical homes for patients; and more.

Beginning January 1, 2009, Illinois parents will be able to keep their unmarried children on their health insurance plans until they reach age 26, or age 30 if they are military veterans.