The big pay (scale) back. In the midst of a recession, healthcare execs see their compensation make a marked decline.

Partly thanks to the stock market downturn, fiscal 2008 was the first time in its seven-year history that our annual survey of CEO compensation saw no one raking in more than $15 million. Overall, 2008 shows "a slight decline in executive comp from 2007, but they don't show a sharp downturn, given the drop in company earnings and stock market performance. That's the thing that I'm looking for next," says business professor Ed Lawler, left.

Land of opportunity. Roubideaux takes over at a time when stimulus funding and a proposed boost to the agency's budget could be forthcoming. However, she still says her main concern is that IHS is 'underresourced' and 'underfunded'.

2009 brought good news for the Indian Health Service, with a boost to its budget and $500 million in stimulus funding. The new director, Yvette Roubideaux, says it's a good start for an underfunded agency. But some think the stimulus money is unfairly targeting two states: Alaska and South Dakota.

Healthy choices.

With all the pieces in place to launch comparative-effectiveness research, questions remain over whether it will change the U.S. healthcare system.

Pandemic peril.

As avian flu has slipped from the headlines, funding for preparedness efforts has lagged. But public health experts say the threat remains, and the needed actions are expensive. Last year, $398 million was disbursed to 62 states and territories to address all hazards, and that's "not a lot of money," says Gregg Pane, left, director of national healthcare preparedness programs.