Hot topics in 2012: ACOs, quality improvement, consumer engagement

For your reading pleasure, we have gathered the most read FierceHealthPayer stories of 2012. It's a definitive victory for accountable care organizations. From Cigna's vast collaborative accountable care program to Aetna's use of IT to Blue Shield of California's agreements aimed at integrative care, you, my dear readers, are clearly interested in what your fellow colleagues are doing in the ACO arena.

Quality improvement and consumer engagement topics tied for second place as the most popular FierceHealthPayer story topic read this past year. And then there's a whole category dedicated to the Highmark CEO debacle. That's a classic example of how our society loves watching powerful people tumble and fall. But the number one most read story in 2012 doesn't address health reform at all. It deals with a hefty HIPAA fine for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. Article