Study: Loophole enables urban hospitals to qualify for rural subsidies
Editor's Note Hundreds of urban hospitals have obtained dual urban-rural Medicare classifications since a 2016 policy change, enabling them to qualify for reimbursement programs intended for rural providers. Fierce Healthcare reported the news August 4. As detailed in the article, a study published in Health Affairs by Johns Hopkins and…
Nearly half of hospital patient harm events go unreported, OIG reveals
Editor's Note Nearly half of hospital harm events—particularly surgical events—were not captured by reporting systems, according to a July 30 TechTarget report on new findings from the Office of Inspector General (OIG). The OIG report examined 299 harm events experienced by a nationally representative sample of 770 Medicare patients discharged…
Brief NIH funding halt sparks backlash
Editor's Note The Trump administration paused new NIH research grants and contracts, prompting widespread concern before abruptly reversing course, according to a July 30 article in Forbes. Citing a separate report in STAT, the article details how the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed the NIH to suspend new…
Judge orders restoration of deleted federal health data
Editor's Note A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore health-related webpages and datasets removed under a January executive order, according to a July 29 article in Medscape. The ruling follows a lawsuit by Doctors for America and the city and county of San Francisco, which argued that…
HHS launches organ transplant oversight initiative after patient safety failures
Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a major initiative to reform the US organ transplant system following disturbing findings about organ procurement practices. Fierce Healthcare reported the news July 21. According to the article, the initiative was triggered by a directive from HHS to…
Hospital M&A climbs as rural, outpatient shifts reshape care strategies
Editor's Note Hospital mergers and acquisitions saw a slight increase in Q2 2025, but broader shifts in healthcare affiliations and delivery models continue to gather momentum, according to a July 10 Kaufman Hall analysis of M&A activity for the second quarter of 2025. The report recorded eight hospital and health…
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…
Federal agencies urge organizations to fortify AI data security across system lifecycles
Editor's Note AI systems are only as secure and reliable as the data that powers them. That’s the central message of a guidance sheet jointly issued May 22 by the NSA, CISA, FBI, and cybersecurity agencies from Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The document outlines best practices for securing…
CMS updates hospital price transparency guidelines
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated hospital price transparency guidelines to require publishing real, calculated dollar amounts rather than placeholders and estimates. As detailed in the agency’s May 22 announcement, the revision complies with President Trump’s February 25 Executive Order 14221, “Making America Healthy…
CDC communication breakdown raises public health risk
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has gone largely silent under new federal oversight, stalling disease alerts, halting newsletters, and freezing social media updates even as outbreaks and chronic health issues persist across the US. NPR reported the news May 21. As detailed in the article,…
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