News Briefs
Federal Judge Rejects Nursing Home RN Staffing Mandate
A federal judge has struck down the federal nursing home staffing mandate's demands that a registered nurse be on duty 24/7 every day of the year, as well as calls for specific levels of nurse hours per day per patient. The ruling gives nursing home operators another significant court victory in their drive to have the first-ever federal nursing home staffing mandate struck down or at least mitigated.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2025-06-20)
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Hospice Attestation Rule Could Cause Payment Clawbacks, Denials
A proposed new requirement in the 2026 proposed hospice rule could lead to "significant" payment clawbacks and claims denials if finalized, according to some stakeholders. The proposed rule contains a provision that hospices provide a "clearly titled" physician or nurse practitioner face-to-face encounter attestation that must include a signature and dates of signing.
(Source: Hospice News, 2025-06-20)
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House, Senate Lawmakers Introduce Healthcare Cybersecurity Act
House and Senate lawmakers introduced the bipartisan Healthcare Cybersecurity Act in an effort to safeguard medical data and increase coordination between federal agencies. If the legislation passes this time around, it would require the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and HHS to collaborate on improving healthcare cybersecurity. It would also mandate the appointment of a liaison who would work between HHS and CISA to coordinate cyberattack response.
(Source: Tech Target, 2025-06-17)
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Immigration Crackdown Harming Long-Term Care Industry
The White House immigration crackdown is hitting the long-term healthcare industry, as nursing homes and care providers lose foreign-born employees and struggle to hire. Advocates and policy experts warn the quality of care that people receive is under threat.
(Source: Axios, 2025-06-18)
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Travel, Visa Restrictions Harming Hospitals Awaiting Residents
Travel and visa restrictions imposed by the Trump administration threaten patient care at hundreds of hospitals that depend on medical residents recruited from overseas. Foreign medical residents often serve as the frontline caregivers at busy safety-net hospitals in low-income communities, but now some of those hospitals are racing to prevent staffing shortages.
(Source: The New York Times, 2025-06-18)
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ATA Says Telehealth Flexibilities Likely to Be Extended Again
Telehealth flexibilities slated to expire on Sept. 30, 2025, will likely be extended again, though it is unclear how long. That's according to members of the American Telemedicine Association's advocacy arm, ATA Action.
(Source: Tech Target, 2025-06-18)
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Biggest Health Insurers Promise to Rein in Prior Authorizations
Insurers, large and small, from across the country have announced a series of commitments they're making to reform one of the biggest pain points in the patient journey: prior authorization. Key steps include committing to reducing the number of services that are subject to prior auth, with "demonstrated" progress by Jan. 1, 2026.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2025-06-23)
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Only 14% of CIOs Say Health Systems Prepared to Implement AI
Just 14 percent of healthcare CIOs say their organization has a comprehensive, well-defined AI strategy, according to Qventus survey data and interviews with CIOs, CMIOs, and senior IT leaders at medium and large U.S. health systems. While enthusiasm for AI remains high, two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents say they are still developing their strategy, and 20 percent describe their approach as "limited or fragmented."
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2025-06-19)
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Medical Device Attacks Have Providers Paying More for Security
A new report casts light on the security challenges and spending patterns of cybersecurity leaders in healthcare. The survey -- based on a poll of more than 600 healthcare IT decision-makers who play a role in medical device purchasing -- found that 22 percent had experienced cyberattacks targeting their organizations' medical devices, and most of these buyers (79 percent) said that they are willing to pay more for advanced runtime protection or built-in exploit prevention.
(Source: Healthcare IT News, 2025-06-20)
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CMS Announces Major Changes to Nursing Home Care Compare Site
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services dropped a pair of surprise memos that will have an immediate effect on one-fifth of all nursing homes' ratings and give consumers more timely information. The agency announced it is making major changes to its Nursing Home Care Compare site, including the elimination of old, third-cycle inspection results from its health inspection rating.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2025-06-19)
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Healthcare Leaders Change Course Amid Challenging Environment
As macroeconomic and policy shifts continue to rattle industries across the country, healthcare decision-makers are recognizing the need for strategic change to keep up. Whether it's providers trying to manage rising labor costs, pharma and medtech working to overcome supply chain challenges, or payers dealing with drug pricing, healthcare has been significantly impacted by the ebbs and flows taking place in Washington.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2025-06-20)
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