Minneapolis-St. Paul hospitals stopping losses after year of cost cutting

The (Minneapolis-St. Paul) Star Tribune reports that hospitals in the Twin Cities appear to be back in the black after cutting jobs, freezing pay and delaying new construction on hospitals around the region. "Collectively, net income for hospitals swung to $327 million for the first three quarters of 2009, compared with a loss of $42 million during the same period in 2008, according to the Minnesota Hospital Association, which surveyed 22 metro hospitals." More people also visited the hospitals in the region in 2009, officials say (Yee, 1/11).