The University of California at Los Angeles Health System (UCLAHS) will pay $865,500 in HIPAA fines after an investigation found that its employees had been peeking at the electronic personal health information of numerous patients.

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Despite concerns about greater access to health insurance brought about through healthcare reform, new research indicates that access to Medicaid does substantially increase healthcare use and patient well-being and also reduces the financial strain of covered individuals, according to a study published today on the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) website.

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), NBER, and Providence Health & Services studied the effects of the 2010 Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid to low-income individuals who are un- or underinsured, in what researchers call the first-of-its-kind study, according to a press release today.

"Some people wonder whether Medicaid coverage has any effect. The study findings make clear that it does. People reported that their physical and mental health were substantially better after a year of insurance coverage, and they were much less likely to hav...

In an editorial published in The Hill today, Representative Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), a physician, called the controversial mystery shopper program by the Administration "a waste of taxpayer money," costing taxpayers an estimated $350,000, according to Roe. The Obama administration's plan to plant mystery shoppers posing as patients to assess patient access to care has come under scrutiny from providers and health organizations, alike. "If the administration is seeking a way to increase access, spying on physicians is a not the solution. If the administration were truly interested in improving access to care, President Obama could work with Congress to permanently fix the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula, which dictates Medicare payments to physicians," Roe said. Article

Physicians and drug makers walk a fine line when it comes to their relationships with each other. For three psychiatrists affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, they crossed it when they violated conflict of interest rules, reports the Boston Globe.

Although Joseph Biederman, Thomas Spencer, and Timothy Wilens said their actions were "honest" mistakes, Mass General and Harvard determined that their financial ties with the pharma industry "violated certain requirements'' of the institutions' policies, the three doctors said in a letter to employees. Those policies require that affiliates report industry-sponsored activities to the University, notes the Harvard Crimson.

"We now recognize that we should have devoted more time and attention to the detailed requirements of these policies and to their underlying objectives," wrote the doctors.

Mass General and Harvard's three-year investigation stemmed from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa...