Trending News Today: Legislators Target Malpractice Lawsuits That Inflate Insurance Premiums

The “Jalisco” genetic mutation predisposes patients to develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, with most patients displaying symptoms in their early 40s. Of the 5 million people in the United States with Alzheimer’s disease, 1% have the genetic mutation thought to cause early onset, according to Kaiser Health News. Although this mutation will likely affect a majority of individuals in a family, studying it may help researchers discover new mechanisms behind the disease, which could potentially lead to a cure.

Bundled payments for joint replacements have saved millions of dollars each year without diminishing the quality of care, but the new secretary nominee for the Department of Health and Human Services opposes these payments, according to Kaiser Health News. The nominee, US Representative Tom Price (R-GA), previously said he believes that the payments are experimenting with individuals’ healthcare. These pricing programs, created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), will likely vanish if the health law is repealed.

Republican lawmakers are now voicing concerns over an increase in malpractice lawsuits that have inflated insurance premiums, driven healthcare professionals to bankruptcy, and have even caused physicians to order unnecessary procedures that increase costs. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Rep Price are now aiming for tort reform to be a top priority for the replacement plan for the ACA, CaliforniaHealthline reported. However, researchers and healthcare experts do not believe that the lawmakers’ views are based on facts.