Paige Twenter

The Children’s Hospital Association warns that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will gut America’s network of pediatric hospitals by billions of dollars, KFF Health News reported Sept. 10.  The bill, which became law July 4, will establish stricter Medicaid eligibility requirements for immigrants and nondisabled adults, with changes scheduled…

Seven health systems have invested in a $26 million funding round for Optain Health, which uses AI to detect eye disease. The oversubscribed series A investment included Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System, New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health, Columbus-based Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and…

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden is urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Microsoft, saying weak security practices at the tech company helped enable a 2024 ransomware attack on St. Louis-based Ascension hospitals, Bloomberg reported Sept. 10. In a letter sent Sept. 10 to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Sen. Wyden accused…

Lawrence (Mass.) General Hospital and its two Holy Family Hospitals in Haverhill, Mass., and Methuen, Mass., respectively, have rebranded and now operate as a single system, Merrimack Health, based in Haverhill according to a Sept. 9 news release shared with Becker’s. The three hospitals will be the first health system…

The new Apple Watch will include “powerful” new features such as hypertension notifications and sleep scores to keep wearers healthy, the tech giant said. For hypertension, the Apple Watch Series 11 will work passively in the background to review wearers’ heart sensor data from the past 30 days to determine…

Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth has appointed Imelda Dacones, MD, president of care delivery and value.  In this role, Dr. Dacones will lead clinical operations across the 9-hospital system, with a special focus on improving the clinician experience and aligning care models with the organization’s three-year transformation strategy. Her appointment is effective…

HHS and the FDA are taking measures to crack down on misleading pharmaceutical advertisements, including digital and broadcast drug ads.  The FDA is sending roughly 100 cease-and-desist letters and thousands of warning letters to drug companies, citing “widespread violations” and deceptive marketing practices, according to a Sept. 9 news release…

Pam Wright has been promoted to CFO of Columbus, Miss.-based Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, according to a Sept. 5 Facebook post on the hospital’s page. The hospital is part of part of Memphis, Tenn.-based Baptist Memorial Health Care. Prior to her new role, Ms. Wright served as controller for the…

The House Appropriations Committee has advanced a spending bill for 2026 that includes an amendment blocking funding for a pilot program that would add prior authorization for some traditional fee-for-service.  CMS unveiled the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction initiative in June, with six states selected for the pilot slated to…

Oracle plans to roll out new artificial intelligence capabilities within its patient portal, allowing patients to ask questions and receive plain-language explanations of diagnoses, lab results and treatment options, the company announced during the Oracle Health and Life Sciences Summit Sept. 10. Oracle built OpenAI’s technology into the Oracle Health…