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A merger between Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem would give the Chicago-area systems leverage to raise prices, a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois executive testified in federal court Tuesday. Brass with Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in downtown Chicago also testified that they do not consider NorthShore or Advocate to be major competitors. (Schencker, 4/12)

A major hospital chain is settling a long-running tax dispute with the state of Florida. Records show HCA Holdings, the parent company of the Nashville-based HCA, signed an agreement with Florida officials in late March to drop three lawsuits. The lawsuits relate to disputes over how much in corporate income taxes HCA paid to the state. (4/13)

A first-time mother with a low-risk pregnancy is more likely to deliver her baby by cesarean section in Miami than if she were to give birth almost anywhere else in the nation, according to a study released today by Consumer Reports. The Consumer Reports analysis of more than 1,200 hospitals across the country — all of which self-reported C-sections for mothers considered least likely to need the surgery — found that Florida had one of the nation’s highest rates in 2014 and that Miami-Dade is home to the top outlier, Hialeah Hospital. (Chang, 4/12)

The top leader on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation told tribal members Tuesday that he is thankful for federal inspections that have uncovered serious quality-of care-deficiencies at a government-run hospital serving the community. (Cano, 4/12)

This is a tough time for rural hospitals. Doug McMillan, chief executive officer at West Park Hospital in Cody, said more than 100 rural hospitals have closed in the past 10 years. McMillan said it’s important for both West Park and Powell Valley Hospital to remain strong. If one were to fail, “it would jeopardize the other hospital’s ability to maintain its hospital’s critical access status, and that’s very important,” he said. (Olson, 4/13)