News Briefs
Hospital, Device Makers Seeking Exemptions on Tariffs
Medical device makers, hospitals, and other key health industries are pressing to gain exemptions under the Trump administration's new tariff regime with the next and most aggressive actions to date due to be unveiled on April 2. Healthcare's heavy reliance on foreign countries for raw materials and manufacturing means new levies could result in higher prices for providers and consumers and supply chain disruptions, PwC said in a report.
(Source: Axios, 2025-03-27)
READ MORE >
Drugmakers Expediting Shipments to U.S. Amid Tariff Fears
Some drugmakers are taking the unusual step of sending more medicines by air to the U.S., two executives and two logistics firms said amid fears President Donald Trump's tariffs announcement could include products made in Europe. Two European-headquartered drugmakers told Reuters they are sending as much of their medicines across the Atlantic as possible over the past several weeks and heard other pharmaceuticals companies were doing the same.
(Source: Reuters, 2025-03-27)
READ MORE >
HHS Plans to Cut 10,000 Jobs, Shutting Multiple Agencies
The Department of Health and Human Services said it plans to cut 10,000 full-time jobs across several agencies, as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to restructure many parts of the federal government. The cuts, part of the White House’s "reduction in force" plan, were expected to effectively shutter or downsize multiple departments at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies, potentially jeopardizing public health efforts.
(Source: NBCNews.com, 2025-03-27)
READ MORE >
FDA Layoffs Impacting Medical Device Product Review Deadlines
Some U.S. health regulators who review medical devices and tobacco products for safety and efficacy are struggling to meet deadlines mandated by Congress due to Trump administration layoffs, three scientists working on the projects told Reuters. The government said it will cut jobs across health agencies, including 3,500 at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a follow-on to earlier layoffs.
(Source: Reuters, 2025-03-27)
READ MORE >
AI May Increase Physicians' Liability, Study Claims
Artificial intelligence was supposed to ease the burden on physicians -- not add to it, but without proper legal protections and support structures, it may be doing just that, according to a new peer-reviewed brief in JAMA Health Forum. The study, authored by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Texas at Austin, argues that assistive AI -- while designed to help physicians diagnose, manage, and treat patients -- could actually increase liability risk and emotional strain on clinicians, and unless health systems and lawmakers act, the consequences could include higher rates of burnout and medical errors.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2025-03-25)
READ MORE >
Clawback of State Health Dep't Funding Will Impact Nursing Homes
After the devastating path COVID tore through nursing homes, many experts pushed to have long-term care facilities better integrated into local public health networks, and many of the efforts to do so were supported by grants awarded by the federal government -- grants that were to infuse state and local health departments with $11.4 billion this fiscal year. But the Department of Health and Human Services announced it was clawing them back, stripping away counted-on resources in a move some state officials and other observers called illegal.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2025-03-31)
READ MORE >
Number of Healthcare Data Breaches Rose 64.1 Percent in 2024
In 2024, healthcare data breaches reached an all-time high, with 276,775,457 records compromised -- a 64.1 percent increase from the previous year's record and equivalent to 81.38 percent of the United States population. Despite managing sensitive patient data, findings reveal that healthcare organizations still struggle with corporate customer data protection.
(Source: Cybernews, 2025-03-31)
READ MORE >
Hospital Patient Data Compromised After Oracle Breach
A breach at Oracle Health impacted multiple U.S. healthcare organizations and hospitals after a threat actor stole patient data from legacy servers. Oracle Health has not yet publicly disclosed the incident, but in private communications sent to impacted customers and from conversations with those involved, BleepingComputer confirmed that patient data was stolen in the attack.
(Source: Bleeping Computer, 2025-03-28)
READ MORE >
Physicians More Optimistic About Future, Fewer Leaving Medicine
According to findings from its fourth-annual Physician Sentiment Survey, athenahealth says there has been a positive sentiment shift about the practice of medicine in the age of AI. Fewer physicians say they're thinking about leaving the profession, and perceptions of work/life balance and an adequate amount of time with patients are increasing.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2025-03-28)
READ MORE >
CMS to End Hospice Special Focus Program in 2025
A federal court has ordered a stay on litigation intended to block the hospice Special Focus Program (SFP) after the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pledged that it would not resume implementation during 2025. The crux of a lawsuit, filed by hospice organizations against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the criteria that the agency uses to select hospices for the new Special Focus Program.
(Source: Hospice News, 2025-03-25)
READ MORE >
Reducing Medically Unnecessary Delays in Care Act Introduced
Bipartisan lawmakers have introduced a bill that aims to more closely align Medicare insurers' prior authorization denials with medical need, as determined by board-certified specialist physicians. The Reducing Medically Unnecessary Delays in Care Act of 2025 was introduced in the House by Rep. Mark Green, M.D., R-Tennessee, and referred to committee.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2025-03-28)
READ MORE >
