> A new report suggests that accountable care organizations (ACO) with private payers are a "middle ground" between PPO and HMO products, according to the Integrated Healthcare Association. "ACOs represent the opportunity to forge a middle ground between the traditional HMO product, which controls cost at the expense of consumer choice, and the traditional PPO product, which preserves choice at the expense of cost control," James Robinson, the report's author said in a statement. Press rlease
> Two subsidiaries of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey--Horizon Healthcare Innovations and Horizon New Jersey Healthcare--announced that their patient-centered medical home program will now include 1,800 Medicaid beneficiaries, reports NJBiz. Article
> UnitedHealth has hired one of Minnesota's top white-collar crime investigators, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. For the last 11 years, Joe Dixon worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in Minneapolis, heading the fraud and public corruption division. Article
> Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) and Allscripts are rolling out electronic health records to more than 750 North Carolina physicians so they can connect to the statewide health information exchange, reports Healthcare IT News. BCBSNC will cover 85 percent of EHR costs for eligible independent practices and 100 percent for eligible free clinics. Article
And Finally... Drink more coffee if you want my job. Article