A recent analysis painted an optimistic view on Medicare, a program that is divisive among politicians, healthcare professionals and the general public.

Pfizer will not be manufacturing an over-the-counter version of atorvastatin (Lipitor) after the company terminated its clinical trial program, Bloomberg reports. Since losing patent protection in 2011, sales of atorvastatin have decreased from more than $10 billion per year to $2.06 billion in 2014.

For the first time in six years, health spending in the U.S. is projected to have increased more than five percent in 2014, mostly due to an expansion of insurance coverage. Prescription drug spending also played a role, growing 12.6 percent last year as costly hepatitis C medications and new treatments for cancer and multiple sclerosis became available.

An analysis of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries found all-cause mortality rates, hospitalization rates and expenditures per beneficiary decreased from 1999 to 2013. During that same time period, patients who were hospitalized also experienced better survival rates in later years and total hospitalizations and inpatient costs declined in the last six months of their lives, according to lead researcher Harlan Krumholz, MD.

Since open enrollment for the health insurance exchanges began in October 2013, millions of more Americans have received coverage and their access to care and self-reported health have improved, according to an analysis of telephone surveys conducted in the past two years.

The FDA’s approval of the first proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor brought about excitement for some with regards to the effectivenss of the new class of drugs in lowering cholesterol. It also raised concerns about the high costs associated with the medications.

With the pending approval of two cholesterol-lowering drugs, the Washington Post reports concerns are mounting about the costs of the medications, which are both injectable proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors. 

In 2014, the median compensation increased approximately 7.5 percent for a general cardiologist and 8.0 percent for a cardiologist working in the cath lab, according to an American Medical Group Association (AMGA) survey released on July 14. Meanwhile, compensation for cardiac or thoracic surgeons increased 4.8 percent from the previous year.