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Antibiotic resistance is a threat to national security. That's how President Barack Obama described the rapid growth of such resistance when he issued an executive order in September instructing HHS and the Defense and Agriculture departments to take aggressive action on the issue. The president cited federal data showing that at least 2 million Americans are infected with drug-resistant bacteria each year and 23,000 die as a result. He emphasized the critical need for improved antibiotic stewardship—coordinated practices promoting the appropriate use of antibiotics—in healthcare facilities. Federal officials say such programs are among the most effective ways to curb resistance and reduce the number of hard- or impossible-to-treat infections. (McKinney, 12/20)

By more than one measure, hospitals saw operating income slump in 2013. But that may actually be good news for some hospitals. Hospitals with contracts that reward efforts to hold down healthcare spending may have been heartened to see revenue fall. While such contracts remain limited, they've have multiplied in the last few years with endorsement from Medicare under the health reform law. (Evans, 12/19)

Eleven hospitals in New Mexico, including Presbyterian and UNM hospitals in Albuquerque, will see Medicare payments cut because of the rate of hospital-acquired infections or other medical complications, according to Kaiser Health News and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The penalties mean Medicare reimbursements will be reduced by 1 percent over the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2015. Kathleen Davis, Presbyterian Healthcare Services senior vice president and chief nursing officer, estimates the penalty will cut around $900,000 from Presbyterian’s expected $95 million in Medicare payments in 2015. UNM Hospital was unable to provide a dollar estimate. (Rayburn, 12/20)

Texas Health Presbyterian, Medical City Dallas, Baylor University Medical Center and Parkland Memorial Hospital will lose millions of dollars in Medicare reimbursements next year because of accidents and infections acquired by patients. (Landers, 12/19)

Medicare is shaving payments to 12 Mississippi hospitals because too many patients come down with preventable new ailments while being treated for something else. The hospitals are among 721 nationwide losing 1 percent of their Medicare payments for the current fiscal year. Conditions tracked by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for such purposes include blood clots, bedsores, falls, urinary tract infections associated with catheters, and bloodstream infections associated with tubes inserted into a vein to deliver medicine or fluid. (12/20)

A hospital is Northern California has agreed to pay the federal government $2.25 million to settle allegations it submitted false Medicare claims. The settlement comes after a former employee of St. Helena Hospital filed a lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act. U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said Friday the hospital knowingly charged Medicare for unnecessary angioplasty — a procedure to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. Prosecutors say the hospital in Napa County charged Medicare for such procedures during the period of Jan. 1, 2008 through July 31, 2011. (12/19)