Category: Hospitals
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STAT+: Trump can’t break free from vaccine politics
STAT+: Trump can’t break free from vaccine politics You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And you may find yourself climbing a StairMaster next to RFK Jr. Send news tips and vague Talking…
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STAT+: Minnesota report shows large hospitals continue to dominate the 340B drug discount program
STAT+: Minnesota report shows large hospitals continue to dominate the 340B drug discount program Minnesota hospitals and clinics participating in a controversial U.S. drug discount program reaped at least $1.34 billion in revenue in 2024, and the largest institutions were the biggest beneficiaries, according to a report from the state Department of Health. Specifically, hospitals…
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STAT+: Justice Department backs AbbVie in its bid to overturn a Colorado law guiding a drug discount program
STAT+: Justice Department backs AbbVie in its bid to overturn a Colorado law guiding a drug discount program The Department of Justice is backing AbbVie in its battle to overturn a Colorado law that prohibits pharmaceutical companies from placing restrictions on a controversial federal drug discount program. Created more than 30 years ago, the 340B…
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STAT+: Cigna, extending reach into prescription drugs, acquires major pharmacy used by hospitals
STAT+: Cigna, extending reach into prescription drugs, acquires major pharmacy used by hospitals Cigna has acquired CarepathRx, a large pharmacy backed by private equity that dispenses prescription drugs to nearly 10% of U.S. hospitals. The acquisition, discovered by STAT in a review of Cigna’s financial filings, reinforces the company’s push to control more of the…
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STAT+: DOJ, Ohio attorney general accuse OhioHealth of driving up prices, crowding out competition
STAT+: DOJ, Ohio attorney general accuse OhioHealth of driving up prices, crowding out competition OhioHealth is the latest nonprofit health system to find itself in the government’s crosshairs for allegedly using its market power to suppress competition and drive up costs. The Department of Justice and Ohio’s attorney general filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against…
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STAT+: The federal directory of doctors and hospitals is coming this year
STAT+: The federal directory of doctors and hospitals is coming this year After years of grand ambitions, the federal government disclosed that it is months away from rolling out a centralized list of doctors and hospitals filled with up-to-date contact and insurance information. Details of how the national provider directory will work are scant —…
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STAT+: Breakup between Brigham and Dana-Farber is getting messier fast
STAT+: Breakup between Brigham and Dana-Farber is getting messier fast What does it feel like to live in a house where your parents are getting divorced? Just ask some of the staff at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Things have been a bit awkward since the cancer hospital announced 2½ years ago that it was breaking its decades-long partnership…
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STAT+: The messaging war over Medicaid cuts
STAT+: The messaging war over Medicaid cuts You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Dr. Oz seems to have invited Jeffrey Epstein to a Valentine’s Day party in 2016, about eight…
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STAT+: Epic launches AI Charting, potentially scrambling the ambient scribe market
STAT+: Epic launches AI Charting, potentially scrambling the ambient scribe market The nation’s largest electronic health record company, Epic Systems, announced on Wednesday more details around its long-anticipated AI Charting feature, which could disrupt the market for ambient scribes. Several health systems are piloting the tools now, the company said. “I almost bristle a little…
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STAT+: HCA expects $1 billion hit from loss of ACA tax credits, Medicaid changes
STAT+: HCA expects $1 billion hit from loss of ACA tax credits, Medicaid changes The country’s biggest hospital chain outlined Tuesday what could be a more than $1 billion hit to profit this year from the expiration of federal tax credits and changes to Medicaid payment programs. For many other companies, it’d be a catastrophic…
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STAT+: HHS spending bill caught up in ICE debate
STAT+: HHS spending bill caught up in ICE debate You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To those in the path of this winter storm: Are you rethinking dry January yet?…
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STAT+: Hospital group wants Trump administration to block a new Lilly policy on 340B claims data
STAT+: Hospital group wants Trump administration to block a new Lilly policy on 340B claims data The American Hospital Association is asking the Trump administration to stop Eli Lilly from enacting a new policy that would require all hospitals that participate in a federal drug discount program to submit comprehensive claims data, the first time…
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STAT+: How investing in primary care helped a hospital system get back in the black
STAT+: How investing in primary care helped a hospital system get back in the black Sometimes, it pays to be number two. Beth Israel Lahey Health has long been the state’s second-largest hospital system, the second biggest employer, the second most fill-in-the-blank. When compared to Mass General Brigham, owner of Massachusetts’ two biggest hospitals, Beth Israel’s place in…
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STAT+: Dozens of hospitals demand better security for patient record sharing in letter to officials
STAT+: Dozens of hospitals demand better security for patient record sharing in letter to officials More than 60 health systems have sent a letter to officials running national health record exchanges, asking them to take action to prevent “bad actors” from accessing patients’ health information. The letter follows a lawsuit last week from electronic health…
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STAT+: Health insurance execs shift blame for costly, confusing health care system
STAT+: Health insurance execs shift blame for costly, confusing health care system Health insurance executives agree that the U.S. health care system is overpriced, wasteful, and confusing. And they also agree that those problems are someone else’s fault. On Thursday, the CEOs of America’s largest health insurance companies appeared before Congress to both justify their…
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A measles outbreak and hospitals’ financial troubles
A measles outbreak and hospitals’ financial troubles Why is the U.S. at risk of losing its measles elimination status? How are health officials reacting to the measles outbreak? And what did top Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services official Mehmet Oz tell hospital executives at a fancy yacht party in San Francisco? We discuss all…
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STAT+: What’s in Congress’ sweeping health care deal: PBM reform, telehealth, science funding
STAT+: What’s in Congress’ sweeping health care deal: PBM reform, telehealth, science funding WASHINGTON — Congress has reached a deal on several health care policies, including a crackdown on drug-industry middlemen, transparency measures for hospital billing, pediatric cancer research measures, and Medicare coverage of multi-cancer screening tests. Those measures are part of a bill to…
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STAT+: How accurate is HBO’s ‘The Pitt’? Mass. ER doctors and nurses describe the reality of their jobs
STAT+: How accurate is HBO’s ‘The Pitt’? Mass. ER doctors and nurses describe the reality of their jobs Emergency room staff cut the clothes off an unresponsive homeless man, and several rats leap from his body onto the floor. Doctors examine a child who won’t wake up and discover he ate one of his father’s cannabis…
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Opinion: What lingers in ‘The Pitt’ is heartache. What’s missing is outrage
Opinion: What lingers in ‘The Pitt’ is heartache. What’s missing is outrage In “The Pitt,” Robby is the rockstar every emergency doctor wants to be — sharp, fast, instinctive. So it’s shocking when the man who moves like lightning through a resus room buckles to the floor, sobbing, gasping. He’s having a flashback: the ICU,…
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STAT+: Trump releases health care plan amid pressure over affordability
STAT+: Trump releases health care plan amid pressure over affordability WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday released a hodgepodge of health care policies that would create new price-control power over pharmaceutical companies, but that otherwise wouldn’t fundamentally overhaul America’s existing system, as he faces mounting pressure to address the cost of insurance and care. The…
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STAT+: Trump administration indicates it will drop appeal of a court order blocking a 340B pilot program
STAT+: Trump administration indicates it will drop appeal of a court order blocking a 340B pilot program The Trump administration has signaled plans to drop its appeal of a court order that blocked a pilot program from changing payment terms for a controversial federal drug discount program. In a Monday court document, the Department of…
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STAT+: Who will pay for AI in health care? 3 trends to watch in 2026
STAT+: Who will pay for AI in health care? 3 trends to watch in 2026 The health care industry is gearing up for a battle over whether and how clinical artificial intelligence should get paid for. As of the end of September, the Food and Drug Administration has authorized 1,357 AI-enabled medical devices. But very…
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Opinion: New medical technology presents hospitals with a prisoner’s dilemma
Opinion: New medical technology presents hospitals with a prisoner’s dilemma In 2026, Medtronic plans to launch a new robot to compete with a legacy market leader. This new robot is reportedly cheaper both in startup and sustained costs. That’s a welcome direction for any new medical technology, but it ignores a problem that hospitals, especially…
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STAT+: Three major health care policy issues to watch in 2026
STAT+: Three major health care policy issues to watch in 2026 WASHINGTON — Health care figured prominently in the first year of President Trump’s second term, and it’ll likely play an even bigger role leading up to the 2026 midterm elections. The shift back to health care politics has been somewhat surprising. Although Republicans were…
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STAT+: CMS divvies up first payments from $50B rural health fund, with an eye toward MAHA goals
STAT+: CMS divvies up first payments from $50B rural health fund, with an eye toward MAHA goals WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday announced the distribution of the first payments from a new $50 billion rural health fund — but not all states are getting equal payouts. The administration is giving larger awards to…
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STAT+: Rolling back health AI transparency rule will shift the burden of vetting to health systems
STAT+: Rolling back health AI transparency rule will shift the burden of vetting to health systems A Trump administration proposal to deregulate artificial intelligence products used in health care would shift the burden of vetting those tools onto health systems that would have to work harder to prove the technology is trustworthy, experts said. In…
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Trump administration’s plan to shrink vaccine schedule sends health sector scrambling
Trump administration’s plan to shrink vaccine schedule sends health sector scrambling WASHINGTON — A possible Trump administration effort to change the childhood vaccine schedule has left hospital leaders, health policymakers, and pediatricians scrambling to navigate what could be the most significant changes to the American vaccine program in decades. The administration had planned to announce…
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STAT+: Mass General Brigham bolstered its bottom line. Other Mass. hospital groups reported multimillion losses
STAT+: Mass General Brigham bolstered its bottom line. Other Mass. hospital groups reported multimillion losses Despite uncertainty and concern buffeting Massachusetts hospitals, the state’s largest health system saw its finances improve last year, turning a small operating surplus and receiving a boon from investment income. Mass General Brigham on Friday reported a $59.2 million operating gain…
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STAT+: House set to vote on bills to ban gender-affirming care for young people
STAT+: House set to vote on bills to ban gender-affirming care for young people Republicans in Congress are making a renewed push before the end of the year to pass major federal restrictions to gender-affirming care for trans minors. The House is set to consider two bills this week, before lawmakers depart for their holiday…
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STAT+: Major health insurers to skip J.P. Morgan conference, again
STAT+: Major health insurers to skip J.P. Morgan conference, again For a second straight year, the nation’s largest health insurance companies will not be formally presenting at January’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the industry’s premier investor event. Centene, Cigna, CVS Health, Humana, Molina Healthcare, and Oscar Health are not on the initial agenda for the…
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STAT+: Why so many primary care doctors are switching between two Harvard-affiliated hospital systems
STAT+: Why so many primary care doctors are switching between two Harvard-affiliated hospital systems Six primary care providers at a single Mass General Brigham practice are moving to rival Beth Israel Lahey Health in January, raising to at least 18 the total number of such defections from the state’s largest health care system to the second largest…
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STAT+: Medicare backs off plan for quicker clawback of $7.8 billion from hospitals
STAT+: Medicare backs off plan for quicker clawback of $7.8 billion from hospitals Hospitals scored a win in Medicare’s final outpatient payment rule for 2026, as they persuaded federal Medicare officials to back off a plan that would have clawed back $7.8 billion a decade sooner than originally planned. However, hospitals didn’t get everything they…
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Opinion: These bioethicists want to start a conversation on ‘faking’ CPR
Opinion: These bioethicists want to start a conversation on ‘faking’ CPR Below is a lightly edited, AI-generated transcript of the “First Opinion Podcast” interview with Jason Wasserman and Parker Crutchfield. Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get alerts about each new episode…
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STAT+: Children’s hospital lobby shifts strategy amid MAHA’s rise in Washington
STAT+: Children’s hospital lobby shifts strategy amid MAHA’s rise in Washington WASHINGTON — As long-revered health institutions come under new scrutiny in President Trump’s Washington, one powerful group is shifting its strategy. The Children’s Hospital Association, which represents more than 200 hospitals and spends millions on lobbying each year, announced Tuesday a new messaging approach…
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STAT+: Will Optum Real really end the payer vs provider AI wars?
STAT+: Will Optum Real really end the payer vs provider AI wars? You’re reading the web edition of STAT’s AI Prognosis newsletter, our subscriber-exclusive guide to artificial intelligence in health care and medicine. Sign up to get it delivered in your inbox every Wednesday. Multiple people have told me they’re now planning to see “Doctor Moloch,” the…
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STAT+: Blue Cross plans to target doctors for overcharging. Physicians are furious
STAT+: Blue Cross plans to target doctors for overcharging. Physicians are furious With the help of a computer algorithm, the state’s biggest health insurer says it will scrutinize doctors who frequently bill it for the most expensive patient visits. It will then unilaterally cut payments to physicians it concludes charged too much. Targeting what it…
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STAT+: Key GOP lawmaker tones down rhetoric on medical care for immigrants
STAT+: Key GOP lawmaker tones down rhetoric on medical care for immigrants You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Three cheers for Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers, who spent her Saturday…
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STAT+: House speaker backs emergency care law as GOP targets immigrant medical treatment in shutdown fight
STAT+: House speaker backs emergency care law as GOP targets immigrant medical treatment in shutdown fight WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that Republicans don’t want to change a law requiring hospitals to provide care to any individual experiencing a medical emergency, including immigrants without legal status. His remarks capped off more…
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STAT+: Who is winning the government shutdown?
STAT+: Who is winning the government shutdown? You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Thankfully, this year the saltwater cowboys of Virginia’s Eastern Shore rounded up wild ponies for their horsy…
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STAT+: The government is shut down. Now what?
STAT+: The government is shut down. Now what? You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Are you in a betting pool for how long the government shutdown will last? Send your…
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Home hospital programs in ‘terror’ as they grind to halt ahead of government shutdown
Home hospital programs in ‘terror’ as they grind to halt ahead of government shutdown On any given day, dozens of patients waiting for hospital rooms line the hallways of the emergency department at UMass Memorial Medical Center’s University Campus. It’s one reason the Worcester-based health system dove into delivering home hospital care four years ago. …
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STAT+: Patients set to lose hospital care at home if government funding isn’t extended
STAT+: Patients set to lose hospital care at home if government funding isn’t extended WASHINGTON — If Congress doesn’t fund the government by the end of the day on Tuesday, patients across the country who have been receiving hospital-level care at home will be placed back in hospitals. The Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative…
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STAT+: Hospitals boost their profit expectations for 2025 as health insurers stumble
STAT+: Hospitals boost their profit expectations for 2025 as health insurers stumble Two major investor-owned hospital chains upped their 2025 revenue and profit forecasts this week, in stark contrast to health insurers, who’ve been doing the opposite. HCA Healthcare and Tenet Healthcare, for-profit chains that collectively own 240 hospitals, both said their revenue and profit…
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STAT+: 10 million expected to lose health insurance under Trump’s tax cut law, CBO says
STAT+: 10 million expected to lose health insurance under Trump’s tax cut law, CBO says WASHINGTON — President Trump’s major domestic policy law will result in nearly 10 million more people going without health insurance by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate on the final law. The law, which included significant cuts in…
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STAT+: How Republicans sidelined the health care industry and pushed through historic Medicaid cuts
STAT+: How Republicans sidelined the health care industry and pushed through historic Medicaid cuts WASHINGTON — Republicans swiftly approved President Trump’s tax cut bill last week, despite a full-court press from doctors, hospitals, and patients to beat back some of the largest health care cuts in American history — more than $1 trillion in all…
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STAT+: Fed-up and demoralized, FDA staff are leaving.
STAT+: Fed-up and demoralized, FDA staff are leaving. You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Between innings of the July 4 Chesapeake Baysox game against the Richmond Flying Squirrels there was…
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STAT+: How the tax-cut bill that just passed the Senate would upend health care
STAT+: How the tax-cut bill that just passed the Senate would upend health care WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans passed President Trump’s landmark tax bill Tuesday morning, putting transformational health provisions a major step closer to enactment. The bill slashes health care spending by more than $1 trillion over a decade, cuts that would affect patients,…
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STAT+: Dr. Oz tries to seal the deal on Trump’s tax-cut bill
STAT+: Dr. Oz tries to seal the deal on Trump’s tax-cut bill WASHINGTON — As GOP leadership pushes to pass President Trump’s tax megabill this week, one administration official has been working hard behind the scenes to close the deal: Mehmet Oz, who oversees Medicare and Medicaid. House Republicans, including those on the fence about…
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STAT+: As Trump’s deadline nears, Republicans face substantial disagreement on Medicaid cuts
STAT+: As Trump’s deadline nears, Republicans face substantial disagreement on Medicaid cuts WASHINGTON — With days to go before Congress is set to leave town, lawmakers are still at odds over key Medicaid provisions in the tax bill touted by President Trump. Republicans across the House and Senate are still working out significant disagreements on…
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Opinion: The Senate’s version of Trump’s tax-cut bill threatens safety-net hospitals like ours
Opinion: The Senate’s version of Trump’s tax-cut bill threatens safety-net hospitals like ours We appreciate President Trump’s steadfast commitment to protecting Medicare and Medicaid and his leadership in standing with America’s working families, seniors, and veterans. As leaders of urban health systems that serve our nation’s most vulnerable — low-income workers, children, and the elderly…
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STAT+: Health insurers promise to reduce barriers to care under pressure from Trump administration
STAT+: Health insurers promise to reduce barriers to care under pressure from Trump administration WASHINGTON — Last week’s pledge from more than 40 health insurers to cut down on prior authorizations came after some behind-the-scenes convincing from the Trump administration. The administration pushed insurers to sign a voluntary pledge to cut back on prior authorizations…
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STAT+: Senate Republicans debate Medicaid options as hospitals move to shape legislation
STAT+: Senate Republicans debate Medicaid options as hospitals move to shape legislation WASHINGTON — The Senate returns next week with critical choices on Medicaid policies that could cost hospitals billions of dollars and lead to millions losing coverage. Hospitals are scrambling to control the damage. Last month, the House passed its version of the One Big…
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STAT+: Republicans lean in to new Medicaid cuts
STAT+: Republicans lean in to new Medicaid cuts You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s a short, busy week on Capitol Hill. I hope you have Juneteenth off, but I…
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STAT+: Senate GOP proposes to rein in states’ tools to boost Medicaid funding
STAT+: Senate GOP proposes to rein in states’ tools to boost Medicaid funding WASHINGTON — To help pay for President Trump’s tax cuts, the Senate is clamping down on tactics that states use to boost federal Medicaid funding, according to legislation released by the Senate Finance Committee on Monday. The text includes harsher restrictions on…
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STAT+: Hospitals would be hit hardest by Medicaid cuts in GOP tax bill, report finds
STAT+: Hospitals would be hit hardest by Medicaid cuts in GOP tax bill, report finds WASHINGTON — Hospitals would bear the brunt of federal health care funding cuts in the Republicans’ tax bill, and they’d be hurt hard in states with both predominantly Democratic- and Republican-led governments, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute…
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Exclusive: Coalition for Health AI will help The Joint Commission write responsible AI ‘playbooks’
Exclusive: Coalition for Health AI will help The Joint Commission write responsible AI ‘playbooks’ The Joint Commission is forming a partnership with the Coalition for Health AI to develop responsible AI “playbooks,” tools, and a new certification program for health AI, STAT has learned. The partnership brings together the expertise of the health AI trade…
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STAT+: GOP senators zero in on Medicaid policy in Trump’s tax bill that has little impact on enrollment
STAT+: GOP senators zero in on Medicaid policy in Trump’s tax bill that has little impact on enrollment WASHINGTON — A handful of Republican senators want to dial back federal funding cuts to Medicaid in President Trump’s tax cut package, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. But the changes that most of them are…
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10.9 million people would lose health insurance under Trump’s tax cut bill, CBO projects
10.9 million people would lose health insurance under Trump’s tax cut bill, CBO projects WASHINGTON — House Republicans’ tax bill would lead to nearly 11 million people losing health insurance, providing a key source of savings to help finance President Trump’s tax cuts, according to projections that nonpartisan congressional scorekeepers published Wednesday. Another 5.1 million…
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Trump administration revokes guidance requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions
Trump administration revokes guidance requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would revoke guidance to the nation’s hospitals that directed them to provide emergency abortions for women when they are necessary to stabilize their medical condition. That guidance was issued to hospitals in 2022, weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court…
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STAT+: Supreme Court sides with HHS on formula used to pay hospitals for treating low-income patients
STAT+: Supreme Court sides with HHS on formula used to pay hospitals for treating low-income patients The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected hospitals’ argument that the federal government doesn’t pay them enough for treating low-income patients. The seven-justice majority instead sided with the Department of Health and Human Services’ interpretation of the law concerning disproportionate…
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STAT+: Sutter Health will pay nearly $230 million to settle class-action antitrust case
STAT+: Sutter Health will pay nearly $230 million to settle class-action antitrust case Sutter Health has agreed to pay about $230 million to settle a federal class-action lawsuit accusing the Northern California health system of anticompetitive behavior that raised costs for millions of Californians. Both sides agreed to settle the case, originally filed in 2012,…
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STAT+: Harvard funding cuts will largely spare affiliated hospitals, Trump administration says
STAT+: Harvard funding cuts will largely spare affiliated hospitals, Trump administration says Teaching hospitals affiliated with Harvard University will not be affected by the federal government’s decision this week to freeze $2.2 billion in funding to the university, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education. The spokesperson, Madison Biedermann, said Tuesday morning in a…
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STAT+: Medicare gets a big (unofficial) surprise: a 17-year extension on when it’ll run dry
STAT+: Medicare gets a big (unofficial) surprise: a 17-year extension on when it’ll run dry Medicare’s financial future unexpectedly got a lot rosier, at least according to some federal budget wonks. The Congressional Budget Office recently published its long-term predictions of the federal budget and buried a big surprise for people who follow the Medicare…