Regulations/Legal
Medicaid data shared with DHS to aid immigration enforcement
Editor's Note The Trump administration ordered federal health officials this week to share personal data from Medicaid enrollees with deportation authorities, the Associated Press (AP) reported June 14. According to the report, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was given just 54 minutes on Tuesday to transfer enrollee…
Global growth stalls as tariffs, debt, policy shifts throttle recovery, World Bank warns
Editor's Note The global economy is losing steam, with the World Bank forecasting the weakest growth in a non-recession year since 2008—citing protectionist trade policies, stubborn debt, and rising interest rates as key drivers of the downturn. According to the Axios June 9 article, the World Bank’s latest economic outlook…
NIH staff revolt, new analysis affirm the critical role and vulnerability of US academic science
Editor's Note Several hundred National Institutes of Health (NIH) employees have issued a rare internal rebuke of the agency’s current leadership under Director Jay Bhattacharya, STAT June 9 reports. The open letter, dubbed the “Bethesda Declaration,” criticizes abrupt Trump-era policy changes, including the cancellation of health equity and LGBTQ+ research,…
Amid outbreaks, vaccine policy shifts, experts offer practical strategies to safeguard OR staff
Vaccine health has been dominating the news amid ongoing measles and whooping cough outbreaks and high influenza activity last season. It is also on the minds of The Joint Commission surveyors, as the organization has updated infection control standards that took effect in July 2024 for hospitals and critical access…
FDA publishes Baxter update to Novum IQ infusion pump instructions addressing underinfusion risk
Editor's Note Baxter has issued a correction notice for its Novum IQ Large Volume Pump (LVP) after identifying a serious risk of underinfusion linked to the device’s standby mode and power-off conditions. First published on April 24 on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website and subsequently reported by Healthcare…
CNOs urged to ready nurses for ICE encounters under new hospital enforcement rules
Editor's Note Hospitals are no longer protected from immigration enforcement, placing a new burden on chief nursing officers (CNOs) to ensure their teams are prepared, HealthLeaders June 2 reports. As of January 20, the Trump Administration revoked prior federal guidance that designated hospitals as “sensitive locations,” allowing Immigration and Customs…
High drug manufacturing costs threaten hospital-led pharmacy expansion
Editor's Note Hospitals are ramping up in-house pharmacy operations to boost revenue and improve care, but high US manufacturing costs continue to stall a broader federal effort to reshore drug production, Modern Healthcare June 5 reports. As detailed in the article, an aging, medically complex population is driving demand for…
GAO calls for stronger national testing strategy in public health emergencies
Editor's Note The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to strengthen its approach to diagnostic testing during a pandemic or other public health crisis, citing ongoing gaps in leadership, coordination, and readiness, according to a June 5 report from the Center…
Significant CMS moves include withdrawal of emergency abortion care guidance
Editor's Note CMS has rescinded a 2022 guidance that protected clinicians providing emergency abortion care under the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA), removing a key federal safeguard for providers in states with abortion restrictions, according to a June 2 article in Becker’s Hospital Review. The guidance, originally issued…
Leaders translate legislative priorities to perioperative practice
The wave of new legal requirements for surgical smoke evacuation across the country has given OR leaders a crash course in how to act on any new legislation. Based on this experience, complying with other new and pending laws will put these skills to the test. Major hurdles are likely…
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