1. Illinois system to merge with Northwestern Medicine  Full story

2. What CHS' new and outgoing CEOs will be paid  Full story

3. 'We want them infected': Former HHS adviser pushed spreading COVID-19 to achieve herd immunity  Full story

4. The hospital executive and the employee health plan landscape. Click here to weigh in on top priorities and receive a complimentary badge to a future Becker's conference.

5. Intermountain, UnitedHealthcare launch ACO  Full story

6. Pennsylvania physician sentenced for involuntary manslaughter  Full story

7. 10 hospitals planning upgrades, expansions  Full story

8. Healthcare spending hits $3.8 trillion: 8 things to know  Full story

9. 3 Must Reads: 

• 4 steps to increase patient volumes and facilitate revenue recovery in 2021. Click here to download the guidebook.
• What do Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and Hackensack University Medical Center have in common? A commitment to surgical excellence. Click here to read more.
• Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare organizations must learn to quickly pivot to the new normal and bolster their preparedness efforts for the future. Click here to learn more.

10. City of San Francisco condemns naming of hospital after Zuckerberg  Full story

11. 1 in 3 would defer COVID-19 care to avoid medical bills, survey finds  Full story 

12. HHS to give hospitals extra $4.5B in relief payments  Full story 

13. 70 percent of digital transformation initiatives do not reach their goals. Click here to learn how to make sure your initiatives are successful.  

14. Hospital CEOs among first to get COVID-19 vaccine to send public message  Full story 

15. Daily COVID-19 stats, state-by-state:

• Test positivity rates
• Hospitalizations
• Where the virus is spreading fastest, slowest
• Death rates

Becker's Learning Opportunities

1. 11 must-reads for hospital leaders looking to get the most out of their IT investments in 2021. Click here to read more.

2. Are your clinical assets generating the returns your health system needs? Download this white paper to learn how you can maximize your return on invested capital.

3. How well do you understand consumer attitudes toward medical billing and payment? Download this whitepaper to discover how patients approach and interpret healthcare bills.