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Growth in national health expenditures is expected to be 5.5 percent this year, as spending increases from $2.4 trillion in 2008 to $2.5 trillion in 2009-or $8,140 per person, according to CMS.

Last month, UnitedHealthcare launched a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) pilot project in Arizona with employer IBM, which could boost participants' income by as much as 20 percent on top of their current billings

Medpedia, a free online medical encyclopedia for healthcare professionals and consumers, launched last month with more than 7,000 pages of content contributed by 110 organizations.

On the heels of a $350 million class-action lawsuit settlement with UnitedHealthcare in January concerning underpayment for out-of-network services, the American Medical Association, along with numerous state medical societies, launched two similar class-action suits against health insurers CIGNA and ætna in early February.

"Socialized" medicine?

In 48 out of 50 U.S. states, the law has decided for you how to handle requests for assisted suicide: It is illegal.

When the government starts throwing around billions of dollars, everyone has the same question: What's in it for me?

How is socialized medicine going? Just look to the U.K.'s newspapers.

I have a patient with a high-deductible plan who doesn't want to pay for his visits. I've sent certified letters to dismiss him, but he doesn't accept the letters.

When my employer, which is also a health insurer, asks me for personal health information, is that a HIPAA violation?

I plan to add some bonds or other fixed-income assets to my personal investment portfolio. Would municipal bonds be a good idea?

We have a physician leaving our practice and a new physician who is joining, and we are confused regarding how we should bill for services during this transition.

A colleague told me I can give a certain amount of money, tax-free, to my kids each year. Is that true? Will it lower my taxes?

Our group practice has a 401(k) plan. I plan to defer the maximum $16,500 to the plan from my salary. I also do some medical-legal consulting on the side. Can I also establish a 401(k) plan for that business and fund another $16,500?

A Good Samaritan will be exonerated as long as he acts in good faith.

If lack of effective communication is the ultimate explanation for the breakdown in the doctor/patient/family relationship, how do we deal with this?

Freedom from the stress of private practice is a common reason physicians hit the road as locum tenens.

Today's residents face shorter work schedules, which could be tomorrow's problem.

Generational differences can be a source of conflict, but they can also result in better medicine.

More than 44 percent of Americans rolled over their entire retirement account distributions to another tax-qualified plan in 2006.

The Texas Medical Association is fighting the ability of health plans to revoke a patient's policy-and your payments-after claims have been filed.

A large-scale study that indicated health and operational benefits to hospitals that go paperless is likely applicable to outpatient settings too, according to the study's senior author.

Starting in 2011, there may be $44,000 coming your way over the following five years if you adopt an electronic health record system.

Most health insurance markets are dominated by only one or two health insurers, according to a report issued by the American Medical Association.

Two U.S. senators resubmitted legislation from the last congressional session that would require public disclosure of physicians' financial ties to pharmacy companies and device manufacturers.

State of sorry affairs

Taking time to talk with a patient may cost you a few minutes of conversation, but could reward you with a lifelong relationship.

The results of a large-scale study that indicated there are health and operational benefits to hospitals that go paperless are likely applicable to outpatient settings, too, says the study's senior author.