Top Stories

HealthLeaders Media editors research more than 100 reputable news outlets daily and share the latest healthcare headlines with our readers. You may submit inquiries or suggestions to our online editor.

January 31, 2013
How to cut $9.4T from Medicare, in 150 easy steps
Mayo Clinic seeking state help for $5B expansion
NY's Bellevue Hospital back, but changed
W-2s list cost of providing a health plan
Hospital video mocks patient care under healthcare reform
Healthcare experts confront EHR-related medical errors
Doctors' empathic powers documented in study
Hundreds pack VT House for death bill
MN Supreme Court: online post about doc is protected speech
FL hospital employees get $1,000 bonus

January 30, 2013
Specialty groups back IPAB repeal
Top healthcare breaches and their rising costs
GA hospital fee clears another hurdle
CA docs ask court to review Medi-Cal pay cut
Medicaid expansion may save FL money
Aetna, Texas Health Resources establish ACO
Ambulatory surgery centers catching up to hospitals
Jackson Health System board approves union deal
Healthcare law means free clinics have to accept payments
Brown U. intros population health degree program for docs in training
Americans support Medicare, Medicaid and ACA expansions

January 29, 2013
Who wants to be a 'death panelist'?
Opinion: Congress can't cut Medicare hospital outpatient payments
Obama law pits insurance giants against MD co-op
5 findings in ONC HIE research
Retiring Medicare actuary reflects on why he almost quit
NY-Presbyterian to take over downtown hospital
Hanging a price tag on radiology tests didn't change doctors' habits
Loan debt could lead to WV doc shortage
So you want to start a health insurance plan
Think preventive medicine will save money? Think again

January 28, 2013
Immigration reform could add millions under Obama health law
Intermountain analysis: Can hospitals cut waste without rationing care?
AZ bill would compel hospitals to check immigration status
Opinion: President should make medical errors a priority
FDA likely to add limits on painkillers
A hospital fee minus just one thing: A hospital
WI medical board proposes tighter rules for docs
Medical malpractice: Why is it so hard for doctors to apologize?
Mandate improves hospital workers' flu vaccination rates
An oil boom takes a toll on healthcare
A new market, black as ink, printer toner

January 25, 2013
Medicare paid $120M in illegal care
Highmark to pay docs at WPAHS higher rates
Ex-Medicare chief moves toward run for governor
Second NY hospital warns of insulin pen infection
NC hospital launches new products from initiative
IL medical licensing department faces backlogs
MU slowly increases EHR use in hospitals
Health Care Foundation wins $161.9M from HCA
MD designates 5 'health enterprise zones'
The drawn out process of the medical lawsuit

January 24, 2013
Docs praise bill to repeal Medicare cost-cutting board
WellPoint expects states to expand Medicaid
In MA law, states get a health overhaul model
CMS community initiatives could reduce health costs
FL hospitals urge delay on new Medicaid payment system
HIPAA changes could create new bureaucratic burdens
VA ends public access to hospital reports
FL hospitals face huge fed, state cuts
CA physicians dispense more than medical care
Prison time for health data theft

January 23, 2013
Obamacare a tempting target for cuts
Moody's keeps negative outlook for non-profit hospitals
Many seek acute care within month of hospital release
Insurers prod docs, hospitals to stop elective early deliveries
Bedsores, nurse staffing remain on Parkland problem list
Hearing held on Exeter Hospital hep C suits
Opinion: End the 'doc fix' charade, once and for all
VA inspector general begins probe at Buffalo hospital
TX lawmakers considering hospital tax
Ex-Senator to run insurer watchdog group, NAIC

January 22, 2013
President defends Medicare, Medicaid in inaugural address
Obama officials ditch 'exchanges' in rebranding of healthcare reform law
AZ to tax hospitals to pay for Medicaid
NJ reviewing plan to run St. Mary's hospital in Passaic for profit
New data threaten deal with Highmark
The (so far) failed promise of EMRs
Opinion: Patients lose when hospitals take over docs
CO docs cracking down on painkiller abuse
Virtual visits to doc may be cheaper than and as effective as in-person visits
Hospitals super-sizing equipment for obese patients

January 18, 2013
Hospitals push White House to back change in healthcare law
HHS releases HIPAA final rule
Highmark to pay off WPAHS debt in $726M bond deal
Insurers may prove choosy with overhaul exchanges
CA health insurance exchange gets $674M fed grant
Judge rejects WakeMed settlement with fed prosecutors
Hospital 'bed tax' clears GA senate
FDA warned in 2009 not to reuse insulin pens
KY Medical Center agrees to $883K settlement over false claims charges
A moral obligation to get a flu shot?
The future of medical records

January 17, 2013
Medical groups praise Obama's gun-control plan
House Dems push again for 'public option'
UnitedHealth, Mayo pool info to drop cost of care
Highmark to buy Pittsburgh health system
Opinion: A hospital network with a vision
Justice Department OKs gainsharing for NY hospital group
Parkland ER overhaul called substantially complete
Jackson Health asks for HCA trauma center to close
Less than 2% of hospitals are paperless as Medicare penalties loom

January 16, 2013
In 'fiscal cliff' deal, a blow to Obamacare
'Surge plan' helps hospitals cope with flu
NY senator wants probe of VA mistake
ME governor announces proposal to pay hospitals
Pittsburgh health system in tentative deal to cut debt
Jackson Health, unions reach major agreement
'Fiscal cliff' law to affect Medicare's quality reporting
TX Medical Board wants to let its investigators carry guns
Doc shortage? What doc shortage?
Internet has yet to replace family docs
At Cleveland Clinic, Diane von Furstenberg talks patient gowns

January 15, 2013
Obamacare mandate may be 'mandate plus'
AZ governor opts to expand Medicaid
GA 'bed tax' plan: practical solution or cop-out?
Hospitals turn away visitors with flu symptoms
Opinion: Shining a light on Medicare payments
WakeMed clarifies statements on Medicare fraud settlement
Mining electronic records for revealing health data
Are providers ripe for a massive medical records heist?
Blue Cross, Emory discussing new initiative
Patients rarely told about hospital medication errors

January 14, 2013
A snapshot of influenza activity in all 50 states
21 states take aim at MA hospitals' Medicare windfall
Hospitals crack down on workers refusing flu shots
NY ties docs' income to quality of care
Opinion: Finding an economic model for high-tech, efficient healthcare
CA hospitals rebuff government over disaster plans
MO health providers aim to streamline delivery of care
CA legislator vows action on reckless prescribing of addictive pills
As 'bodega clinicas' fill void, health officials are torn
A year later, UT doc reflects on switch to concierge care

January 11, 2013
Early outbreak has officials bracing for worst flu season in years
Drugmakers report US shortages of flu vaccine, Tamiflu
US could save $2T on health costs
Medicare doesn't think its own cost controls will work
FL agency drops cost of healthcare overhaul
Tufts Health Plan CEO may get federal post
Layoffs loom for doctor watchdogs
Hospital wants to replace 'Durham' with 'Duke'
When the doc returns to doctoring
NYC seeks to curb painkiller abuse with hospital limits

January 10, 2013
Hospitals deal with flu 'surge' with tents, extra staff
UnitedHealth: Changes to govt. healthcare could save on costs
Sebelius to stay on as HHS secretary
Regional analysis: which hospitals got rewards, penalties based on quality
5 lessons in transparency from Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove
LifeBridge CEO Warren Green on challenges of healthcare reform
Former Parkland CEO wants to write Rx for Dallas County
Tucked away in cliff deal, millions for 2 small hospitals
When it comes to patient records, docs guilty of copy and paste
What a new doc learned about medical mistakes from her mom's death

January 9, 2013
Donald Berwick mulling run for governor of MA
Republicans can't stop IPAB. But they might slow it down.
Medicare spends $1B on mammograms
RAND: Health IT no bargain yet
Cuomo plans new rules in fight against sepsis
Most Medicare docs set to face performance penalties
Opinion: Healthcare and profits, a poor mix
Many docs give in when patients want brand drugs
HCA to build $71M hospital in Forth Worth
More EHR tech support may improve patient care
Nurse with no flu shot refuses to wear mask, is fired

January 8, 2013
Unusual respite from surging healthcare costs
FL governor meets Sebelius on healthcare, bridles at cost
Debt may influence young docs' career plans
Athenahealth to buy Epocrates for $293M
Healthcare settlement highlights risk analysis, encryption importance
Competition between medical centers affects liver transplant patients
CO hospitals on a $3.4B construction boom
Florida Heart Group sells to Florida Hospital
Man admits to paying hospital employees to steal patient data
Mother accuses hospital staff of texting pictures of dead son

January 7, 2013
Hospitals flex lobbying muscle to bypass some cuts
Analysis: Obama may turn Medicare reform into wider health debate
US settles accusations that docs overtreated
Rivalry drives up medical charges in MO
Vast cache of Kaiser patient details was kept in private home
Health insurers raising some rates by double digits
Fiscal bill extends a Medicare lifeline to small, rural hospitals
Blue Cross overhaul back on MI legislative burner
Officials hurry to set up CA health benefit exchange
Mall of America: Mayo Clinic stops clinical services at retail outlet

January 4, 2013
UT and 6 others win OK to run state insurance markets
House rules aim to block controversial healthcare board's Medicare cuts
National Union of Healthcare Workers affiliates with CA Nurses Association
West Penn Allegheny Health System warned of default
Main NYU Langone hospital reopens post-Sandy
Opinion: To fix healthcare, turn patients into customers
CO physicians take on chiropractors
Will rural healthcare providers pay more for broadband?
11 experts on health IT for 2013
Could MANNA save the healthcare system?
Opinion: MO hospitals will benefit from expanded healthcare

January 3, 2013
Fiscal cliff cuts $1.9B from Obamacare: here's how
Link between healthcare spending, quality unclear
In collecting bills, UNC Health Care has powerful friends
Exeter Hospital hires lawyer to find out who 'dropped ball'
Opinion: At the ER, bearing witness to gun violence
FL Hospital Medical Group buys FL Heart Group
US drug shortage linked to patient relapses
South Jersey Healthcare tells patients data stolen
FL Hospital to offer health insurance
Wyckoff Heights Medical Center honchos trash-talked surgeon, suit charges

January 2, 2013
'Doc fix' in 'fiscal cliff' plan cuts Medicare hospital payments
Health reform may be headed back to Supreme Court in 2013
Drug makers losing a bid to foil generic painkillers
Surgical errors climb, bed sores decline in CT hospitals
Reckless docs go unchecked in CA
MI hospital blazes trail in fight against fungal meningitis
Tumor boards linked to little association with effects on cancer care
Medical board appeals to public to combat prescription overdoses
Hospitals going paperless to boost efficiency
Pete Stark, health policy warrior, leaves a long legacy