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Consumer advocates say people who sign the agreements pay higher fees and may get smaller awards than they would if the case were to go to court.

Nearly one in five Medicare beneficiaries is readmitted within a month, and a new effort under the Affordable Care Act wants to change that by penalizing hospitals with high readmission rates. But hospitals say it will be counterproductive.

In several states, lawmakers are advancing bills that would make it illegal for state officials to put the federal health overhaul into place. Even if the bills become state laws, though, they would likely be found unconstitutional.

Mediation often lasts the better part of a day, and whatever is said is confidential and not admissible in court. Even if parties agree to mediate, they can abandon the process and take the case to trial if they're not making headway.

A vaccine against cervical cancer can also prevent genital warts in males. But that doesn't mean insurers are obligated to pay for boys and men to get vaccinated.

Now researchers in the U.K. are using maps to study variations in the way health services are delivered. The approach, pioneered at Dartmouth in the U.S., shows that the care provided can be quite different even when doctors are paid salaries.

Babies born even a little shy of the full 39-week mark for gestation may still suffer health trouble, including breathing and feeding problems. A 2005 estimate put the U.S. cost of premature births at $26 billion.

Some self-employed people are discovering a helpful little loophole in insurance plans. By bringing their spouse or another person on board as an employee, insurers may have to issue them health coverage.

The annual enrollment period for privately run Medicare Advantage plans and prescription drug benefits starts Saturday, rather than in mid-November as in past years. The deadline for enrollment has also been pushed up — to Dec. 7 from Dec. 31.

Consumers aren't the only ones paying attention to the quality ratings of private Medicare coverage. Health plans stand to make big bucks by scoring higher in Medicare's rating system.