> In a letter to the Florida attorney general, the American Medical Association, Florida Medical Association and the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association asked state regulators to "preserve competition" by blocking the pending merger between Aetna and Humana. Letter
> The House Energy and Commerce Committee is currently working on a bill that would decrease some funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program as well as limit states' ability to impose Medicaid "provider taxes" to increase Medicaid payments from the federal government. Announcement
> In 2015, overall spending on prescription drugs climbed 5.2 percent in the United States, according to a new report from Express Scripts. Spending on specialty medications rose 18 percent, while spending on standard prescription drugs rose less than 1 percent. Report
> Intermountain Healthcare incurred a combined loss of $392.5 million during 2014 and 2015 because of shortfalls in the Affordable Care Act's risk corridor program, according to its recent earnings report. Report
Healthcare News
> The theme of this year's American College of Healthcare Executives Congress is "leading well" and Edward H. Lamb, division president of IASIS Healthcare in South Jordan, Utah, drove the message home by encouraging attendees to remain positive about the difference they make in their communities. Article
Health IT News
> Healthcare organizations must shift their thinking about security to improve their preparedness, according to Joey Johnson, chief information security officer at Premise Health in Brentwood, Tennessee. Article
And finally… Monkey see, monkey Snapchat. Article