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Two government-run hospitals on Native American reservations in South Dakota will keep receiving crucial federal funding after agreeing to undertake significant measures to improve the quality of care provided to patients. The Indian Health Service, which administers the hospitals on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian Reservations, announced Sunday that it reached last-chance remediation agreements with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Saturday. (5/1)

Minnesota's second-largest psychiatric hospital is no longer at risk of losing federal funding after it reached a deal to correct safety and patient care issues. The Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid signed an agreement earlier this week that requires an outside consultant to conduct a review of the hospital. (Feshir, 4/29)

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey sees its newest coverage plan as a potentially transformative product, just what the health-care system needs to reward successful medical treatment and keep costs down by moving away from the traditional fee-for-service model. But the Omnia Health Plan, along with its payment model, has triggered three lawsuits, five hearings in Trenton, a dozen bills proposed by legislators and a costly public-relations war. (Haddon, 5/1)

State officials are negotiating with the federal government on a plan to keep Western State Hospital from losing $64 million a year in federal money. If approved, the agreement would give the troubled hospital, managed by the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), more time to confront a range of issues. (O'Sullivan, 4/30)

The Colorado House passed a change to the state's hospital provider fee Friday that could keep $700 million a year in the state budget, instead of going to taxpayer refunds. Though the shift drew five Republican votes in the Democrat-controlled House, it appears a long shot to pass the Senate. In the upper chamber, Republicans have been entrenched since the beginning of the session to defend the refunds due under the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. (Bunch, 4/29)

Federal authorities have determined that an investigation by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs into the manipulation of wait times for Texas veterans seeking care was "deficient and unreasonable." The U.S. Office of Special Counsel released a statement this week saying the investigation of scheduling manipulation at several Texas VA hospitals and clinics by the VA's Office of Inspector General "failed to appropriately address" whistleblower allegations. It found, for instance, that the VA substantiated that improper scheduling occurred at facilities in Austin and San Antonio but didn't address whether that may have endangered public health and safety. (4/29)

No prior healthcare experience required. Track record of turning around troubled institutions preferred. The job description for rescuing Miami-Dade’s century-old public hospital network, Jackson Health System, from the brink of financial ruin five years ago did not call for a seasoned healthcare executive. Instead, as sometimes happens in a crisis, the job fell to an unorthodox candidate: Carlos Migoya, a retired banker and erstwhile auto dealer who frankly didn’t need the salary or the headache of turning around a $1.7 billion-a-year public enterprise in an industry he hardly knew. (Chang, 4/30)

Saying he wants to make way for upcoming changes, Wesley Lo will step down as head of Maui County's three hospitals and its parent regional organization on July 1. (Tanji, 5/1)