Should 15,000 Steps a Day Be Our New Exercise Target?

Taking 10,000 steps per day is often suggested as a desirable exercise goal for people who wish to improve their health. But a new study of postal workers in Scotland suggests that that number could be too conservative and that, to best protect our hearts, many of us might want to start moving quite a […]

A Positive Outlook May Be Good for Your Health

“Look on the sunny side of life.”  “Turn your face toward the sun, and the shadows will fall behind you.”  “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.”  “See the glass as half-full, not half-empty.” Researchers are finding that thoughts like these, the hallmarks of people sometimes called “cockeyed […]

Pop a Pill for Heartburn? Try Diet and Exercise Instead

Many Americans would rather take a drug than change their habits to control a persistent ailment. Yet, every medication has side effects, some of which can be worse than the disease they are meant to treat. Drugs considered safe when first marketed can turn out to have hazards, both bothersome and severe, that become apparent […]

Aetna, UnitedHealth show increasing appetite for value-based care contracts

The biggest health insurers are moving quickly towards value-based care arrangements, their recent earnings reports show. While Aetna has long-held a goal to reach 75 to 80 percent of its medical spend in value-based relationships by 2020, Aetna’s medical spend is now 45 percent tied to value, CEO Mark Bertolini said during last week’s fourth […]

Lower Back Ache? Be Active and Wait It Out, New Guidelines Say

Dr. James Weinstein, a back pain specialist and chief executive of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System, has some advice for most people with lower back pain: Take two aspirin and don’t call me in the morning. On Monday, the American College of Physicians published updated guidelines that say much the same. In making the new recommendations for […]

From ‘Repeal’ to ‘Repair’: Campaign Talk on Health Law Meets Reality

Asked at a confirmation hearing two weeks ago if he was working with President Trump on a secret plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, Representative Tom Price, Mr. Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services, smiled broadly and answered: “It’s true that he said that, yes.” The committee room, filled with health […]