SAN FRANCISCO -- CareCloud, a leading provider of cloud-based practice management, electronic health records (EHR), and medical billing software and services, and QuantiaMD, the largest social learning and collaboration platform serving more than 170,000 validated physician members, today announced the findings of the first Practice Profitability Index (PPI). The announcement took place at the inaugural HealthBeat 2013 Conference, sponsored by VentureBeat in San Francisco. The PPI was created and launched as part of a partnership between the two companies and was designed to provide a voice to US physician practices regarding issues impacting the financial and operational health of their practices.

PORTLAND, Ore., May 1, 2013 -- Health care reform has resulted in some of the largest scale changes to the way health care is delivered and funded since the 1960s, providing unprecedented access, coverage and protections for American consumers. To help people better understand the variety of choices before them, Regence has launched a new website that is designed to help consumers and businesses navigate the new health care landscape.

Health spending has been growing at historically low levels in recent years. The Office of the Actuary (OACT) in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports that national health spending grew by 3.9 percent each year from 2009 to 2011, the lowest rate of growth since the federal government began keeping such statistics in 1960. Estimates from the Center for Sustainable Health Spending at the Altarum Institute suggest that the slowdown largely continued into 2012, with health spending growing by 4.3 percent last year. The Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust Employer Health Benefits Survey shows similar moderation, with premiums in employer-sponsored health plans increasing by 4 percent in 2012.

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2013 -- The Health Coalition on Liability and Access today endorsed legislation introduced in the House of Representatives that will curb medical lawsuit abuse and help ensure continued patient access to care.The Standard of Care Protection Act (H.R. 1473), a bipartisan bill introduced by Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-GA) and Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX), is the first piece of legislation in the House of Representatives in the 113th Congress to address our nation's broken liability system.  It ensures that no provisions of federal health care law may be inappropriately used to create new threats for medical liability litigation in the United States.

CAMDEN, N.J., April 10, 2013 -- In a highly innovative move, unprecedented in New Jersey, a health insurer and a hospital system -- AmeriHealth New Jersey and Cooper University Health Care -- announce today that Cooper will acquire a 20 percent interest in AmeriHealth New Jersey. This venture intends to transform health care in the state by increasing quality and lowering costs through a more highly coordinated care model.

Fredericksburg, VA, April 05, 2013 -- Mary Washington Healthcare, along with other national, state and community organizations, is leading a massive effort to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making—an effort that has culminated in the formal designation of Tuesday, April 16 as National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD).

Park City, Utah, April 05, 2013 -- Today, Zane Benefits, Inc. published new information on the Nevada Health Insurance Exchange. Zane Benefits, which provides comprehensive and flexible alternatives to traditional employer sponsored health benefits, is the leader in defined contribution and health reimbursement arrangements.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 4, 2013 -- According to the White House, the U.S. spends $2.2 trillion each year in health care, and Americans spend more on health care than on food or housing.  An upward trend in health care cost is projected over the period of 2015-2021 at an average rate of 6.2 percent annually, reflecting the net result of the aging of the population, several provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and generally improving economic conditions reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.