By Alison O'Brien
Rock Center

In an update of a story Rock Center aired on June 28, 2012 regarding bedside collections in the emergency room:

On Monday, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson and Accretive Health agreed to a settlement after a six-month legal case.  The settlement contains no admission of liability or wrong doing by Accretive. 

Accretive, one of the largest health care consulting companies in the United States, agreed to pay nearly $2.5 million and will not provide services to clients within the state of Minnesota for two years.   An attorney for Accretive says the company was confident it would win in court but agreed to the settlement “in order to prevent this matter from being a continued distraction.”

Editor's Note: NBC's Mike Taibbi investigated claims from a number of Minnesota patients that, in the midst of their medical emergency, they were approached and asked for payment. The claims sparked Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson to investigate the payment practices at a group of hospitals in the state. Taibbi's report, 'Bedside Manners' originally aired June 28, 2012 on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams.

Rock Center

NBC's Mike Taibbi investigates claims from a number of Minnesota patients that, in the midst of their medical emergency, they were approached and asked for payment. The claims sparked Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson to investigate the payment practices at a group of hospitals in the state. The hospital group acknowledged to Rock Center that some patients "did not have the experience they deserve." The company the hospital group contracted with says the Attorney General's allegations misstate the nature of their business.

General Motors reported its highest annual profit ever on Thursday.

The automaker, which emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2009 after a government-led bailout, announced revenue of $105 billion in the past year, an 11 percent increase, and said its profit of $7.6 billion was 62 percent higher than last year.

In a story broadcast Wednesday night on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams, General Motors allowed cameras inside its Flint, Michigan plant which has added a third 'graveyard' shift to keep up with demand.

The addition of the third shift in Flint has added 750 jobs at the plant. Most of the jobs have gone to long laid-off auto workers. The jobs pay around $29 an hour with benefits.

Larry Zahner, manufacturing manager for General Motors North America, told NBC News' Mike Taibbi, “We’ve been very careful assuring when we put the third shift on, it’s going to stick.”

Two years ago, GM shut down the third shift at the Flint assembly plant after the automaker was forced to file for bankruptcy and ask the government for help.  GM pared down pension packages, got rid of thousands of jobs, hundreds of dealerships and watched their stock price tumble.

Now the automaker that some nicknamed ‘Government Motors’ in the wake of the economic collapse appears to be turning a corner.  It is now the number one automaker in the world, a title it regained in part to Toyota’s struggles after the devastating tsunami.

The U.S. government still owns 26.5 percent of the company and is waiting for the share price to rise before selling in an effort to recoup the bailout money.

Nationwide, other automakers have added third shifts as well. In Belvidere, Ill., Chrysler recently announced plans to add a third shift by the summer. Ford recently added a third shift to a plant in Chicago. 

This year, GM expects to increase its revenue as global auto sales grow and it charges more for models. However, it will make less money per vehicle as the mix of sales continues to shift to cars from trucks, which have bigger sticker prices. It also expects to invest $8 billion on new products and technology, and says pension expenses will rise. The company wants to keep expenses down by freezing its underfunded U.S. pension plan for salaried workers.

GM said 47,500 blue-collar workers in the U.S. will get $7,000 profit-sharing checks in March. The checks are based on North American performance and are a record for the company.

Rock Center, msnbc.com and wire reports contributed to this story.

Click here to watch Mike Taibbi's full report, 'The Graveyard Shift,' from Rock Center with Brian Williams.

Rock Center

In Flint, Michigan the graveyard shift has returned at a General Motors plant, adding 750 jobs and giving hope that the auto industry’s turnaround will be long lasting.

The return of the third shift is underway in cities across the country.  A Chrysler plant in Belvidere, Ill. recently announced plans to add a third shift by this summer.

Flint’s GM assembly plant has been emblematic of the rise and fall of one of America’s signature industries.  In its heyday, the city of Flint had 80,000 auto related jobs.  Today, there are just 7,000 auto related jobs.  Still, experts say the return of the third shift is boosting support industries and Flint’s local economy.

“The Flint Assembly plant and the heavy duty trucks here are a real economic indicator of where we’re going.  People are going back to work, companies are starting to buy pickup trucks for their businesses.  This is all great news,” said Joann Muller, Detroit bureau chief for Forbes who has spent 20 years covering the auto industry.  

NBC News correspondent Mike Taibbi talked to Dave Gray, Marcus Tyler and Anthony Pylant, all men who were 15 year veterans of General Motors when the plant they worked at in Spring Hill, Tenn. closed in 2009.  For the past two years, they were pining for work.  Then, they learned that the GM plant in Flint was adding a third shift.  They didn’t hesitate to pack up their things, leave their families and head to work.  The three men share an apartment and work in the middle of the night together.

“It's precious to me big time. I don’t take it for granted at all,” Pylant said.  “There's a million people across this nation who would swap spots with us in a heartbeat.”

Click here to watch Mike Taibbi's full report, 'The Graveyard Shift,' from NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: While uncovering Mitt Romney's Mexican ancestry for Rock Center, NBC's Mike Taibbi looks at how field reporting can be both informative and entertaining.  In this behind-the-scenes online exclusive, Taibbi points out some of the fun moments the production team experienced while producing 'Romney's Roots,' including a game called 'rope the producer'.

Watch Mike Taibbi's full report, 'Romney's Roots,' from Monday's Rock Center with Brian Williams.