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A government watchdog report says the U.S. Health and Human Services Administration should determine whether hospitals are properly reporting revenue they can receive from group purchasing organizations such as Charlotte-based Premier to make sure Medicare payments aren’t being affected. The report, released last week by the Government Accountability Office, also drew sharp criticism from a physicians group that said the findings did not address their allegations that GPOs are contributing to generic prescription drug shortages. (Rothacker, 11/26)

Federal employees posing as consumers dialed a dozen outpatient clinics and hospitals in Portland last year, asking about the cost of two common procedures -- a colonoscopy and a hernia repair. Sometimes they got answers. Sometimes they didn't, even after calling three times. (Terry, 11/26)

U.S. officials trying to set up a network of hospitals in this country to care for Ebola patients are running into reluctance from facilities worried about steep costs, unwanted attention and the possibility of scaring away other patients. “They’re saying, ‘Look, we might be willing to do this, but we don’t want to be called an Ebola hospital. We don’t want people to be cancelling appointments left and right,’ ” said Michael Bell, director of laboratory safety at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Sun and Dennis, 11/28)