ALSO NOTED: CA med mal insurer offers $21M in discounts; Retail clinic group offers standards; and much more...

> A doctor-owned med mal insurer based in California is offering insured physicians a total of $21 million in discounts. Premiums should drop about 7.5 percent. Article

> An emerging trade group for retail clinics has released its own set of quality and safety standards. Article

> The sale of DC's Greater Southeast Community Hospital seems to be moving forward, despite stalling several weeks ago. Article

> Kansas may have to settle for small health reforms this year, lawmakers say. Article

> There's growing alarm in research circles over the prospect of looming budget cuts at the NIH. Report

> The head of the National Institutes of Health has called on the White House to reverse its position limiting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, calling it a shortsighted approach that has sidelined the NIH in an important field. Report

And Finally... Here's a scathing take on one of the heroes of the "value driven healthcare" movement. Blog