> Hospitals and outpatient care centers are better at bargaining for higher rates from insurers than physicians so far this year. Analysts at Seattle-based Milliman Inc. examined the cost of inpatient hospitalization, outpatient care, professional services and pharmacy services, and concluded that some providers are seeing higher rates from insurers than others, FierceHealthcare reported. Article
> Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is expanding its Blue Performance Network and has ranked Mayo Clinic, which it said is more costly than other health systems, as a Tier 2 facility instead of a Tier 1, according to the Post-Bulletin. Article
> A new survey report from PwC's Health Research Institute shows that 80 percent of insurers want data that clearly detail the cost savings and clinical benefit of a branded drug compared to a generic version before they will consider covering the brand drug. However, 44 percent said they aren't at all confident in the data provided by the drug industry. Report
> And Finally… Like cilantro? Article