> A Florida neurosurgeon and the hospital where she practices have agreed to pay the federal government almost $1.3 million for performing unnecessary spinal surgery on Medicare-insured patients. Article
> Aurora Health Care has agreed to acquire the emergency physician group which staffs the emergency department at one of its hospitals and several of its urgent care sites. Article
> A group of Republican senators have issued a proposal designed to make sure all Americans have health insurance coverage. Article
> CMS administrator nominee Kerry Weems is telling the Senate that if named administrator, he would improve oversight of Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare prescription drug plan providers. Article
> Should the AMA keep selling data on physician prescribing practices to the pharmas? Definitely not, according to these authors. Editorial
> Late last year, several large employers got together on plans to create a huge employee health databank. Now, it looks like the project is in big trouble. FierceHealthIT
And Finally... Curling up with a warm kitty-cat is usually a pleasure, but I think I'll take a pass on this one. Article