> On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed payment changes to end-stage-renal disease (ESRD) facilities. Among these changes are an expected 2.5 percent cost increase for outpatient maintenance dialysis treatments, and a 3.1 percent payment increase to ESRD facilities in 2013. The rule would expand clinical reporting measures, including reporting dialysis infection events to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Healthcare Safety Network and implementing surveys regarding patient experience. Statement
> Eighty percent of Americans could remain uninsured, despite being eligible for Medicaid, if states refuse to participate In Medicaid expansion, according to a report from the Urban Institute. The report estimated that more than 17 million uninsured Americans will not be eligible for subsidies that would allow them to qualify for health reform's insurance exchanges if states opt out of Medicaid expansion. Report (.pdf)
> California's Prime Healthcare Services acquired St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nev., from Dignity Health, Prime announced Sunday, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. St. Mary's will be able to retain it's independent name and its Catholic identity under the new partnership. Meanwhile, Dignity Health is buying occupational health and urgent care provider U.S. HealthWorks, according to The Sacramento Bee. Dignity Health execs hope this move will help grow their network and ensure quality care to its members.
> In what will likely be the largest U.S. healthcare fraud settlement, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline pled guilty to branding, safety disclosures and price reporting charges, and has agreed to pay $3 billion, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday. A settlement of this size is unprecedented and the scope of the charges are so great that GSK must pay $1 billion in criminal fines and an additional $2 billion in a civil liabilities settlement. Statement
> Public opinion on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act verdict continued to be divided after the ruling, with 47 percent approving the court's decision and 43 percent opposing it, according to a poll taken by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Data showed that supporters of the bill voting "very favorable" rose to 47 percent, while oppositionists voting "very unfavorable" remained firmly at 64 percent. Poll (.pdf)
And Finally… A Hemingway look-a-like contest . Article