This week’s news covered a wide range of topics but a couple of stories really make you wonder. Apparently, critics of healthcare reform are finding different ways to voice their disapproval.

Healthcare continues to be one of the hottest areas for hiring in the U.S. and one of the toughest to recruit in-demand talent. CareerBuilder’s annual survey finds 22 percent of healthcare hiring managers plan to add full-time, permanent healthcare employees in 2013, up 3 percentage points in 2012. At the same time, 23 percent of healthcare employers reported that they currently have open positions for which they can’t find qualified talent.

MED3OOO, a McKesson company, and Pioneer Medical Group have signed a definitive agreement to jointly own and operate a new advanced management services joint venture.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $1.5 billion in new Exchange Establishment Grants to California, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Vermont to ensure these states have the resources necessary to build a marketplace that meets the needs of their residents.

One of the main features of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is health insurance exchange either run by the state, operated by the federal government or through a joint effort. That means a shift in the leadership of healthcare delivery and finance towards empowering the states, Judith Bentkover, PhD, academic development director of the executive master’s program in healthcare leadership at Brown University in Providence, R.I., told Clinical Innovation + Technology.

The Healthcare Coalition on Data Protection published a joint statement highlighting the role of personal data in delivering high quality, patient-centred healthcare and conducting effective clinical and public health research, while expressing concerns on the potential negative impact of the proposed European (EU) General Data Protection Regulation in these areas.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking public comment on the new single application for health insurance and the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) applications in preparation for the launch of a new Health Insurance Marketplace in fall 2014. Model applications and documentation for individuals and SHOP are now available for public comment via the paperwork reduction act.

Standards group Health Level Seven International (HL7) has formed the Clinical Quality Information Work Group, which will offer more education to providers. The new workgroup will offer leadership in the development of standards artifacts and educational content to all stakeholders involved in quality measurement efforts.