> Connecticut approved a plan that should almost triple the state's Hospital Hardship Fund for 2008. The new fund should include $30 million, up from $11 million for fiscal 2007. Article [1]

> HMOs could boost monthly premiums 14.1 percent in 2008, the biggest rate increase in four years. Article [2]

> New York's physicians can't be happy. The state Insurance Department has approved a 14 percent medical malpractice rate hike. Article [3]

> Tennessee has applied for a CMS grant in an effort to cut infant mortality rates. Article [4]

> Minnesota will soon require providers and insurers to file claims electronically. FierceHealthIT [5]

And Finally... It's a good thing alligators like bologna, or things could have gotten ugly. Article [6]