Despite hopes for high enrollment through the health-insurance exchanges (HIEs) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the numbers are well below forecast levels as the March 31 enrollment deadline approaches.

As my partner Doug Smith is fond of saying, the awakening period for hospitals is upon us.

There is little question that consolidation and integration in the health-care sector is in full force and will continue to dominate the landscape in 2014—given the markedly high level of healthcare entities merger and acquisition activity in 2013, of that we can be certain.

With the addition of the 71 hospitals operated by Health Management Associates (HMA), Community Health Systems (CHS) becomes the largest hospital chain in the country, public or private, by number of facilities.

Canada’s Calgary Scientific Inc. has become a member of the Health and Life Sciences Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) program of Hitachi Data Systems

Varian Medical Systems’ updated ProBeam™ proton therapy system can now be marketed in the United States

CMS has published rules on how it will comply with requests for the actual dollar amounts it has paid to individual physicians

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has voted unanimously to reduce or eliminate discrepancies in what Medicare pays for services done in hospital outpatient departments versus physician offices and ambulatory surgery centers