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Vanderbilt University Medical Center is leading a push to bring independent hospitals from around the state under a single umbrella network that would reshape access to care around Tennessee. Nearly five years in the making, the statewide Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network would be unprecedented in its scope, reaching from Memphis to Johnson City — and beyond. (Fletcher, 5/23)

The U.S. government on Monday threatened to cut off Medicare and Medicaid funding to a government-run hospital in Rapid City — the third South Dakota hospital serving Native Americans that's been found to have serious deficiencies in recent months. Inspectors with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers the government's health care programs for the needy, disabled and elderly, found problems at Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City during an unannounced survey earlier this month. The hospital is run by Indian Health Service, which provides health care to tribal members through a network of hospitals on and off reservations as part of the U.S. government's treaty obligations to Native American tribes. (5/23)