Bundled payments lower end-of-life costs; Anthem fined $7.8M; California payers to raise rates 4.2 percent

News From Around the Web:
> Bundled payments can help decrease end-of-life care costs because those patients account for the greatest share of health expenditures, reported the Minnesota Post. Article

> Anthem BlueCross BlueShield of Missouri has been fined $7.8 million by the state insurance department for not informing customers that a cheaper, identical plan was available, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Article

> Insurance premiums in California for plans sold on the state-based health insurance exchange will increase by an average of 4.2 percent, according to the Fresno Bee. Article

Health Provider News:
> For some whistleblowers, it's worth the risk of termination and other retaliation for reporting misconduct in the workplace. But that's not always the case for whistleblowers who work for federal agencies, The Washington Post reports. In many cases, those employees are banished to the basement--literally. Article

> The American Hospital Association urged a federal judge to deny the government's motion to dismiss its challenge to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' two-midnight rule and instead grant the organization a favorable ruling, according to a motion filed for a summary judgment. Brief

> Several Michigan hospitals are now using an old-fashioned marketing technique to bring in new patients: billboards. Article

Health IT News:
> Electronic reminders are an effective way to get patients to adhere to a preadmission antiseptic showering regimen shown to help reduce risk of surgical site infections, according to researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Article

> A new web-based model is meant to determine how many physicians are needed in each region, state and the nation to help reduce physician shortages. Article

> And finally… Two-year-olds do their very best, but they just don't make the best moms. Article