The first quarter earnings from the Brentwood, Tennessee-based rural hospital operator LifePoint exceeded previous earning estimates by $70 million and set its stock surging, as well as the stocks of other hospital operators.

Preliminary analysis by Moody’s Investor Services of fiscal year 2013 audited financial statements for not-for-profit hospitals indicates that, as expected, revenue increases did not keep pace with increases in expenses even as hospitals focused on cost containment.

The need for analytics is growing as healthcare organizations move from volume to value-based care. As a result, vendors are rushing to the market with a wave of new products, including more targeted solutions, according to a report from KLAS, a Utah-based research firm.

A D.C. Superior Court judge has dismissed a $100 million lawsuit brought by Capital Behavioral Health (CBH) against the District of Columbia and the not-for-profit operator of United Medical Center, thereby clearing one of the major roadblocks toward either finding a new operating partner or replacing the aging institution.

All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., has reached an agreement with the government to settle allegations that it violated the Stark Laws by paying inflated salaries and bonuses to doctors who brought in more patients and revenues for Medicaid-covered services.

Beacon Health System and the South Bend Clinic physician group have suspended their merger plans because of a longer than expected Federal Trade Commission (FTC) review and uncertainty over whether the deal would be approved.

Three health projects were chosen as recipients of Twitter’s #DataGrants pilot program, which aims to give a handful of research institutions access to its public and historical data.

First quarter earnings for UnitedHealth Group Inc. show a 7.8 percent drop, reflecting in part the cuts to Medicare Advantage programs, new taxes and additional regulation created by the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the company said.