Provider accused of breaching patient privacy; West Nile has cost nearly $1B;

News From Around the Web

> A federal complaint alleges Dignity Health, which owns St. Rose Dominican Hospitals in Nevada, tried to settle a contract dispute by using patient records as leverage, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Article

> A Winston-Salem, N.C., hospital has issued an apology for exposing nearly 20 patients to a rare neurological disease through improper sterilization, according to SFGate. Article

> Serious cases of West Nile virus have cost nearly $800 million since the disease first surfaced in the U.S., according to MedPageToday. Article

Health Finance News

> Lawmakers in Vermont want to make the state the first in the union to have a single-payer healthcare system, but the estimated cost for the program could be as much as $2.2 billion, according to the Associated Press. Article

> A bill introduced in Congress would eliminate some of the length-of-stay burdens critical access hospitals have to bear in order to get paid under Medicare Part A, according to AHA News Now. Article

And Finally… It's the end of the world as we know it. Article