By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

Uncertain future for brokers: Health insurance brokers could go the way of travel agents as more consumers are given the option of shopping for plans online through state exchanges, writes Michelle Andrews of Kaiser Health News for the the NPR Shots blog. The brokers are fighting to preserve their commission, asking that their fees be excluded from calculations of administrative costs for insurance companies. Under the Affordable Care Act, the companies must prove that they spend no more than 20 percent of premiums on costs other than actual medical care. Brokers worry their commissions will be squeezed by the rule.

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By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

A former employee and cancer researcher at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute says she was fired in 2005 because she is a woman, a charge the institute denies.

Lynn Hlatky was told that she was let go because her research in radiation oncology did not align with the goals of a new department director hired to focus on DNA repair and research that could be applied to patient care. She has alleged gender discrimination and a breach of contract, saying in court filings that male colleagues who had less publishing experience and grant funding than she did were not asked to give up research that was outside the department's stated goals.

Attorneys for Dana-Farber said in court documents that Hlatky's termination was not discriminatory and that the change in the department's focus also prompted the firing of a male researcher.

Opening arguments in the case are scheduled to begin this morning in Suffolk County Superior Court, and the trial could last more than two weeks.

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By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

Carney hires guards: Liz Kowalczyk of the Globe reported Saturday that Carney Hospital fired its entire staff of 29 people in a 14-bed locked adolescent psychiatry unit following the investigation of an alleged sexual assault of a patient. Hospital President Bill Walczak said yesterday that high-level administrators also were fired. The hospital submitted a corrective plan to the state that was released yesterday and includes staff training and the posting of around-the-clock security guards.

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By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

A look at the morning's top health industry news.

Vermont health bill now law: Governor Peter Shumlin yesterday signed a bill to put in motion plans to create a publicly financed, consolidated state health system, often referred to as "single-payer." The change won't happen immediately, Nancy Remsen of the Burlington Free Press reports. Instead the law calls for dozens of studies and creates a new regulatory board to lay the groundwork.

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By Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff

Steward Health Care System, formerly Caritas Christi Health Care, is the latest hospital or hospital network to publicly post how it measures up in caring for patients. But the newly formed for-profit chain has decided to take disclosure a step further than most hospitals.

It says its one of the first US hospitals, and possibly the first, to directly compare its performance to local competitors -- even in instances when its own hospitals come up short.

Steward recently launched its Quality Care Ratings based on data from the independent national groups Whynotthebest.org and Leapfroggroup.org.

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By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

A look at the morning's top health industry news.

Court rebukes Veterans Affairs on handling of mental health: Scott Hensley of the National Public Radio Shots blog notes that, while much of the national health coverage yesterday was dominated by the Virginia appellate hearing of the federal health law, another appeals court was busy scolding the Department of Veterans Affairs for "unchecked incompetence" in the handling of soldiers' mental health. The strongly-worded ruling is striking in how it lays out the case against the department and points the finger at the president and Congress for not acting sooner.

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By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

A look at the morning's top health industry news.

State layoffs: The Department of Public Health has begun laying off workers in an effort to adjust to $33 million in budget cuts proposed by House lawmakers, the State House News Service reports. The department is expected to eliminate about 50 jobs across the department, affecting disease prevention, environmental regulation, and community health efforts.

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By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

My father's parents are remarkable: both in their 90s and in good health, for the most part. Still, they see a lot of doctors. My Dad often goes along, asking questions and making sure they understand the doctor's orders. I'm glad for that. Navigating the health care system can be difficult at any age.

A lot of seniors don't have someone like him. And, even if they do, their needs are so great that their family may be overwhelmed. Getting the care they need and the appropriate follow up, particularly after an event serious enough to require hospitalization, is a challenge. Often, they end up returning to the hospital again and again. The cycle compromises their health and costs a lot of money -- about $12 billion in annual Medicare costs that could be avoided if the system worked better, according to a federal advisory panel.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has made reducing hospital readmissions, particularly among people 65 and older, a top priority for improving quality and cutting costs. Last month, the agency released a state-by-state list of hospitals ranked by the percentage of Medicare patients who were treated for one of three key conditions -- heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia -- discharged, and then hospitalized again, for any cause, within 30 days.

Two Massachusetts hospitals had among the worst rates in the state for all three categories: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton, part of Steward Health Care.

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By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

A look at the top health industry news items this morning. FULL ENTRY