Week in review: 12 biggest healthcare stories this week

Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week.

1. Hospital industry's highest-paid CEO made more than $51M in 2016
King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services Chairman and CEO Alan Miller made more than $51.3 million last year.

2. Physician dragged from overbooked United flight
A man claiming he was a physician was forcibly removed from an overbooked United Airlines flight, scheduled to fly from Chicago to Louisville, Ky., April 9.

3. Jury sides with hospitals, returns $454M verdict in case over false gown protection claims
A Los Angeles jury returned a $454 million verdict in a class-action lawsuit filed against New York City-based Kimberly-Clark Corp. and its medical technology spinoff Halyard Health April 7.

4. Florida Hospital Regional CEO Rob Fulbright dies at 47
Rob Fulbright, CEO of the East Florida region of Orlando-based Florida Hospital, died April 11 at age 47 after experiencing a sudden cardiac event.

5. House Republicans say they are near consensus on healthcare
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, said Republicans are approaching agreement on a healthcare bill.

6. The 63 Leapfrog straight-A hospitals
The Leapfrog Group has been assigning letter grades to hospitals based on their patient safety performance twice a year since spring 2012, and 63 hospitals have earned an A in every update, including the spring 2017 update released April 12.

7. Dead bat found in packaged salad — CDC investigates rabies risk
Fresh Express issued a precautionary recall of its Organic Marketside Spring Mix salad in states in the southeastern U.S. April 8 after a decomposing bat was found in a single five-ounce container of the salad mix in a Florida Wal-Mart.

8. CEO pay at the 20 largest healthcare companies by revenue
Many of the highest earners among organizations in the Standard & Poor's 500 index are healthcare sector CEOs.

9. Where are the 10 Leapfrog F hospitals?
Leapfrog released its spring 2017 Hospital Safety Grades April 12, and 10 hospitals in four states received a failing grade. 

10. MedPAC finalizes Part B payment policies: 4 things to know
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission finalized recommendations for Congress aimed at reducing growth in Part B drug spending. 

11. 10 of the biggest healthcare data breaches announced in Q1
As of March 14, there have been 312 reported data breaches and more than 1.3 million exposed records in 2017, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. Around 25 percent of all data breaches occurred in the medical/healthcare sector thus far in 2017. 

12. Massachusetts accuses UHS of Medicaid billing fraud
The state of Massachusetts intervened April 10 in a landmark false claims case accusing King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services of illegally charging Medicaid for outpatient mental health services provided by unqualified staff. 

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