Chris Anderson

A recent study appearing in the February issue of Health Affairs found that 2008 starting salaries for male doctors outstripped the starting salaries of their female counterparts by an average of $16,816 a year. Further, the gap has grown steadily since 1999, when the data showed a difference of only $3,600 in starting salaries.

CIGNA has signed agreements to establish onsite healthcare clinics on American air bases in Kandahar and Bagram, Afghanistan.

Answering critics of the Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act (CLASS), Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has affirmed the administration's commitment to ensure the program is self-sustaining and won't rely on taxpayer dollars.

Tenet Healthcare and Aetna have signed a new multi-year agreement that will allow members of Aetna's commercial and Medicare Advantage health plans to continue receiving covered healthcare services from Tenet facilities nationwide.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and the Illinois Hospital Association have launched Preventing Readmissions through Effective Partnerships, an initiative aimed at reducing hospital readmissions.

With states considering reductions in Medicaid spending to address mounting budget deficits, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has sent a letter to governors outlining ways they can save money on Medicaid expenditures.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a proposed rule that would require most Medicare-participating providers and suppliers to give Medicare beneficiaries written notice about their right to contact a Medicare Quality Improvement Organization with concerns about the quality of care they receive.

Blue Shield of California will comply with a request by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones to delay planned rate hikes for nearly 200,000 individual policy holders for 60 days to allow the commissioner's office time to examine them.

A new study by the American Medical Association shows that many health insurance markets across the country lack significant competition and are instead dominated by one or two insurance companies.

A report from the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United charges that health insurers in California denied 26 percent of all claims submitted through the first nine months of 2010.