USA Today ran a cover story today written by Emily Bazar of the California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting at USC Annenberg. In the article, titled "Doctors pressed to rein in costs,"Bazar wrote about the advantages and disadvantages surrounding the trend of doctors using less expensive treatments and abandoning unnecessary practices. "Health care systems, insurers and government agencies are using sophisticated data to identify doctors and hospitals operating outside medical norms," she wrote. "The goal: to wean doctors off procedures that don't necessarily benefit patients." About the California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting at USC Annenberg: The California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting is  a new venture in journalism that is taking aim at the most fundamental health-care issues facing Californians.  The center operates out of theUSC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism and is funded by the California HealthCare Foundation, with a three-year, $3.285 million grant. The Center for Health Reporting’s reporters and editors, all veterans with decades of journalism experience, are partnering with news organizations across the state to explore questions about the quality and costs of health care and about Californians’ ability to access it.  The center, headed by editor-in-chief David Westphal, actively seeks media partners — newspapers, broadcasters and new media — to cooperatively pursue health stories of local and statewide interest. The center’s work comes at a time when health is assuming an ever-growing importance in Americans’ lives and the public square.  Our mission, crafted by founder and director Michael Parks, is not only to spotlight problems with health care and public policy, but also to identify and explain possible solutions. While located at USC Annenberg and funded by the California HealthCare Foundation, the center is an independent news organization with no agenda but journalism excellence. The early work of the Center for Health Reporting has ranged from the diabetes epidemic in California’s farming communities, to the exodus of local primary doctors, to the impact of forest fires and firefighting techniques on health.  Click here for a list of our projects.  To date, the center has partnered with more than two dozen media outlets. We charge no fee for these collaborations. We encourage you to participate in the center’s work, by suggesting a story idea, commenting on our projects or contacting directly one of our reporters or editors.