News From Around the Web
> Idaho State University will pay $400,000 to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights to settle allegations of HIPAA violations, HealthDataManagement reports. An investigation by OCR determined that ISU failed to conduct a HIPAA risk assessment from April 2007 to November 2012, more than a year after it reported a data breach that impacted more than 17,000 patients at its Pocatello Family Medicine Clinic. Article
> Minnetonka, Minn.-based insurance company UnitedHealthcare and the Washington, D.C.-based Caregiver Action Network have collaborated to create a free online hub with educational resources to help caregivers navigate Medicare. The resources, according to a UnitedHealthcare announcement, will be available in both English and Spanish. Announcement
Provider News
> More than a third of physicians predict their practices will be less profitable (36 percent) in the coming year rather than more (22 percent), according to a new survey of 5,012 physicians from technology company CareCloud and physician-education platform QuantiaMD. Article
> A dozen administrators at San Antonio's University Hospital found out first-hand today what it's like to be a nurse on its Level I trauma center. The leadership team, which typically spends its day attending meetings and pushing paperwork, shadowed nurses instead and watched them deliver care to the region's most sick and injured patients. Article
Health Finance News
> Arizona has come one step closer to becoming perhaps the most conservative state in the union to approve expansion of the Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. The state's senate voted 19-11 late last week to approve the expansion, which would cover another 350,000 residents. The vote came after weeks of maneuvering by more conservative Senators to block the expansion bill from coming to a vote. Five Republican senators broke ranks to vote with the Democrats, giving the bill the margin needed for passage. Article
And Finally… Guess not everyone's in the holiday spirit as much as these guys. Article