News Briefs
Nationwide Hospitals Warned of Potential Terror Threat
The American Hospital Association and the nonprofit Health-ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) are warning of a potential terrorist threat against U.S. hospitals in the coming weeks. On March 18, user @AXactual made a post on X with details related to the active planning of a coordinated, multi-city terrorist attack on United States health sector organizations, according to the joint threat bulletin.
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2025-03-21)
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Drugmakers Urge Excluding Medical Goods from Tariff Wars
Drugmakers are urging the Trump administration and European Union officials to exclude medical goods from expanding tariff wars, hoping to avert price spikes on top-selling medicines made in Europe from Novo Nordisk's, Wegovy for weight loss to Merck's cancer immunotherapy Keytruda. In conversations with U.S. officials, the pharmaceutical industry argued that tariffs on the EU would increase drug costs and create access barriers for patients, endangering priorities outlined in President Donald Trump's health-related executive orders on drug pricing and increasing life expectancy of Americans, according to more than a half dozen pharma industry sources with direct knowledge of the discussions.
(Source: Reuters, 2025-03-18)
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Congress Temporarily Extends Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities
With recent stopgap legislation, Congress once again extended Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities, from March 31 through the end of September. However, the shortened duration of this latest extension is a red flag, say some healthcare organizations.
(Source: Healthcare IT News, 2025-03-19)
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Hospices Concerned About Telehealth, Regulatory Changes, Staffing
Telehealth policies and program integrity concerns represent two of the leading regulatory issues on hospices' radar this year. Regulatory changes and increasing oversight were the second-most cited concerns among nearly a quarter (21 percent) of 112 hospice professionals who participated in this year's Outlook Survey by Hospice News and Homecare Homebase, while challenges around staffing and improved public awareness also topped the list of providers' concerns.
(Source: Hospice News, 2025-03-20)
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1/3 of Rural Hospitals Participating in Cybersecurity Program
Approximately 550 rural hospitals have signed up to participate in Microsoft's rural hospital cybersecurity program as of February 2025, the company stated in a report that also included preliminary data on cybersecurity performance at U.S. rural hospitals. Microsoft launched its rural hospital cybersecurity program in June 2024 amid rising cyber threats and a push by the Biden administration to bolster cybersecurity in the healthcare sector.
(Source: Tech Target, 2025-03-18)
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Hospitals Testing Use of Generative AI in Emergency Departments
Generative AI is proving its value in the doctor's office, where the doctor-patient encounter is usually structured and quiet. Now healthcare leaders want to apply that technology to the Emergency Department, where very little is controlled.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2025-03-24)
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Medical Device Makers Fail to Report Side Effects Within Deadline
Medical device manufacturers frequently fail to promptly report side effects caused by their wares to federal regulators, a new study says. About three in ten adverse event reports for medical devices did not come into the U.S. Food and Drug Administration within the required 30-day deadline, researchers reported in The BMJ.
(Source: HealthDay, 2025-03-18)
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Gen Z Docs Opt Out of Primary Care Due to Stigma, Other Factors
Each year, hundreds of medical residencies for primary care programs struggle to find students, and many who enter the field end up abandoning it. Across the medical field, people look down on primary care work -- which includes family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB-GYNs, and geriatrics -- because it doesn't pay as well, is an administrative slog, and isn't considered as prestigious as other specialties.
(Source: Business Insider, 2025-03-21)
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P.E. Firms Buying Up Disability Care Providers, Report Finds
Private equity firms are rapidly buying up disability care providers, according to a new report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Although the disability care industry has historically been dominated by nonprofit and faith-based organizations, private equity firms made over 1,000 acquisitions of disability and elder care providers between 2013 and 2023, according to the report.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2025-03-19)
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Hospital Financial Performance Stable, Volumes Up Five Percent
Hospitals across the U.S. are seeing steady financial performance, driven by increased patient volumes, even as high expenses remain a persistent challenge, according to Kaufman Hall's January 2025 National Hospital Flash Report. Despite a continued rise in drug and supply costs, inpatient revenue grew at a faster rate than outpatient revenue, signaling a shift in hospital utilization patterns.
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2025-03-24)
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Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act Introduced
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to reform the incentive structure for Pharmacy Benefit Managers, arguing that it drives up patient costs by encouraging them to favor higher-priced drugs while withholding potential savings. Led by physician and GOP Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the group introduced the "Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act," requiring that PBMs in the commercial market only charge a flat fee for their services related to a specific prescription drug, versus letting them continue to charge a percentage of the drug price.
(Source: MSN, 2025-03-18)
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