Editor's Note Introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators, the Healthcare Cybersecurity Act aims to bolster the cyber-defenses of healthcare entities through the collaboration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). According to a July 16 report in HealthExec,…

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Editor's Note Epic has the largest market share for hospital electronic health record (EHR) systems in the world, according to a July 8 report from Becker’s Health IT. The company took the top spot after adding 203 hospitals and 24,117 beds outside the U.S. in 2023, with significant growth in…

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Editor's Note As the Republican National Convention meets in Milwaukee to nominate Donald Trump, the party is not expected to unveil a detailed healthcare platform. However, a July 15 report in Modern Healthcare covers what plans and past records reveal about the potential direction of health policy under a GOP…

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Editor's Note Hospital groups are criticizing CMS' proposed 2.6% pay increase for 2025, deeming it insufficient for nonprofit hospitals with operating margins near or below zero, according to a July 11 article in Becker’s Hospital CFO Report. The American Hospital Association and America's Essential Hospitals argue the rise won't cover…

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Editor's Note Electricity outages caused by Hurricane Beryl in Houston and southeast Texas forced healthcare providers to hold discharged patients longer because their homes lacked power, the Texas Tribune reported July 10. Several hospitals had difficulties accommodating new patients, leading to delayed discharges, ambulance shortages, and a backup in 911…

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Editor's Note On July 10, CMS proposed Medicare payment rates for hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgery center (ASC) services for 2025.  Published annually, the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and ASC Payment System Proposed Rule will have a 60-day comment period, which this year ends September 9 prior to…

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Editor's Note UnitedHealth Group acquired dozens of outpatient facilities, particularly surgery centers, in 2023, often without public announcements, STAT March 11 reports. This builds on their network of about 90,000 physicians. Many new centers are in areas where UnitedHealth dominates the Medicare Advantage market. A major acquisition was National Cardiovascular…

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Editor's Note As aging ambulatory surgery center (ASC) physician-owners retire, many ASCs are struggling with succession plans, Outpatient Surgery Magazine May 1 reports. Per the article, younger surgeons often lack the capital to establish freestanding ASCs, and with tight margins in the ASC market, a capital infusion is often needed.…

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Editor's Note Healthcare industry groups are calling for the federal government to streamline and ease the recently proposed cybersecurity incident reporting rule by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Fierce Healthcare reported July 8. According to the report, CISA's proposal imposes enhanced reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities, including…

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Healthcare employment in the US rose by 49,000 from June to July, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released on July 5. That is compared to an overall monthly gain of 206,000 in June. In June, healthcare employment also trended up in: ambulatory healthcare services…

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