Utah pharmacy administrator stole drugs with fake patient names; Hep C victims drop nursing home suit to sue hospital;

News From Around the Web

> Administrators at a Salt Lake City veteran's hospital say a pharmacy supervisor was able to steal more than 24,000 painkillers via bypassing security and creating records for fictional patients, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Article

> Massachusetts' Steward Health Care implied it will support a ballot initiative that partially standardizes rates hospitals are paid for providing care, according to CommonWealth. Article

> Victims of the worst hepatitis C outbreak in recent years dropped their claims against a Minot, North Dakota, nursing home to instead join it in suing a hospital the patients and nursing home blame for the outbreak, according to The News & Observer. Article

Health Payer News

> Contrary to what some health insurers and policymakers believe, retail clinics may actually increase spending by driving new healthcare utilization, according to a new study published by Health Affairs. Article

> In a hearing Monday on the topic of transparency in tiered health insurance plans--such as Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield's Omnia--New Jersey legislators tackled the daunting task of determining how much insurers should have to disclose when creating new products, according to the American Journal of Managed Care. Article

And Finally… Traffic-stopper. Video