The Big Five private insurance carriers—you know who they are—want to consolidate into the Big Three. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued to block them. The American Medical Association agrees and says that if the DOJ fails, private health insurance in America will be forever changed. For the worse. Hard to disagree.

DePuy Synthes' new U.S. President Juan-José Gonzalez sat down with OTW recently and painted a picture of an invigorated DePuy Synthes. It's a vision that wraps the implant in a blanket of services and digitized intelligence. Where's DePuy Synthes heading? Into a most interesting future. Check it out.

Invibio was the first provider of PEEK to obtain an FDA Master File. The product was a game changer. According to the FTC, the company then tried to create a monopoly by locking up customers with exclusivity contracts. When competitors tried to enter, they were blocked. The FTC filed a lawsuit. The company agreed to a Consent Decreed. Will the monopoly end?

Two former California politicians have pleaded guilty to bribery charges and joined nine others who have pleaded guilty in the massive Worker's Comp criminal billing scheme that cost insurers over $600 million. The scorecard keeps growing. More to come?

Open reduction internal fixation or total hip arthroplasty for younger (50-60 years old) patients with displaced femoral neck fractures? This week's debate pits George Haidukewych against Edwin Su. Who wins? You do…with an outstanding debate.

Here are the Best Sports Medicine Technologies for 2016. Sports medicine is the hot new arena in orthopedics and these innovative products show why. This year's panel of judges included Drs. James Andrews, Brian Cole, John Dorris, David Petron and Tom Vangsness.

The federal government and a giant healthcare system are preparing to square off over the issue of "Steering and Tiering." The government says Carolinas Healthcare System, due to its dominant market share, is keeping prices high and competitors down. The big guns are out on this one.

When Zimmer Biomet announced that it intended to buy LDR for $1 billion, investors immediately turned their attention to NuVasive, Globus and other fast growing, independent spine companies. Is Zimmer's bid a sign that spine may start consolidating? Wall Street thinks so. But Wall Street would. What's the real story?

The world's largest spinal implant company, Medtronic Spine, is adding robotics to its product line. That brings the number of major orthopedic suppliers with computer-assisted surgery and robotics to three. Are surgeons ready? Are other orthopedic product suppliers scratching their heads? Here are the details.

PODs (physician-owned distributors) are spreading. The U.S. Senate and the device industry continue to try to kill them off. The latest attack from the U.S. Senate found an unexpected ally—leaders of the POD movement. Read about the latest battle in this ongoing war.