Growth in healthcare spending in the U.S. has slowed considerably since 2009, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers's Health Research Institute. The organization projects medical costs will increase 7.5 percent for 2013, the fourth year in a row of relatively flat growth.

South Shore Hospital in Boston has agreed to pay $750,000 to resolve allegations because the provider failed to protect the personal and confidential health information of more than 800,000 consumers, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced. The investigation and settlement resulted from a data breach reported to the AGs office in July 2010 that included individuals names, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers and medical diagnoses.

Actuarial firm Milliman has released an accountable care organization (ACO) cheat sheet to guide stakeholders through the ins and outs of Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Pioneer ACOs.

To achieve EHR adoption nationwide, federal policies also may have to focus on encouraging adoption among non-primary care specialists, as well as addressing persistent gaps in the use of EHR systems by practice size, physician age and ownership status, according to an article published in the April edition of Health Affairs.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services discovered this month that a Medicaid employee inappropriately transferred personal information for 228,435 Medicaid beneficiaries to their personal email account, constituting a violation of agency policy.

The National Council on Aging and Humanas Humana Cares complex and chronic care management division are partnering to pilot Stanford Universitys online Chronic Disease Self-Management Program.

Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., authors of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, have outlined substantive points to guide federal implementation of the act. Grassley and Kohl wrote to the Acting Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner with their points and also asked questions about when CMS will begin data collection.

Web-based team resource management (TRM) demonstrates potential for effectiveness in various ambulatory settings, according to research published in the March edition of The American Journal of Managed Care.