Richard Pizzi

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's subsidiary, Blue Care Networks of Michigan, abandoned plans to purchase Physicians Health Plan of Mid-Michigan after the U.S. Department of Justice said it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the acquisition.

Odyssey HealthCare, a large national hospice care provider, has signed a multi-year agreement to implement Web-based revenue cycle management technology at its facilities in 30 states.

Adventist HealthCare, a non-profit network of healthcare providers in Rockville, Md., has locked in more than $1.25 million in electricity savings by purchasing power through an online auction process.

The American Hospital Association has urged the Internal Revenue Service to improve its new Schedule H to better reflect the benefits non-profit hospitals provide to their communities.

Employment in the U.S. healthcare sector increased by approximately 12,000 jobs in February, while the national unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

BJC HealthCare, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare organizations in the United States, intends to automate and standardize its charge description master and pricing.

The Internal Revenue Service has determined that medical residents are excepted from FICA taxes based on the "student exception" for tax periods ending before April 1, 2005, when new IRS regulations went into effect.

Lakeland Regional Medical Center, an 851-bed facility based in Lakeland, Fla., is adding time and attendance technology in an attempt to increase operational efficiencies.

Online advertised vacancies for healthcare practitioners, technical occupations and support personnel fell in February, according to a report released this week.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has instructed its contractors to hold claims containing services paid under the Medicare physician fee schedule for the first 10 business days of March.