Andrew Cass

CMS has fined 28 hospitals in 16 states and Puerto Rico for alleged price transparency violations. Here are the hospitals that have been fined, by state or territory: Alabama (2) D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital (Brewton) Hill Hospital of Sumter County (York) Arkansas (2) Arkansas Methodist Medical Center (Paragould) Fulton County…

Price transparency laws for healthcare organizations were first implemented in 2021 and have progressively strengthened since, but have they helped patients? The laws were introduced during President Donald Trump’s first term and require hospitals to publicly post their payer-specific negotiation rates. In 2022, a companion rule imposed similar requirements on…

Healthcare employment continued to grow in January, with the industry adding 81,900 jobs, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS released the January jobs report Feb. 11. Here are three more takeaways: 1. January’s healthcare job growth was above the industry’s average monthly gain…

Forbes recognized 56 hospitals and health systems on its 11th annual list of America’s Best Large Employers released Feb. 10. The publication partnered with the market research firm Statista to survey more than 217,000 U.S. employees at companies with more than 1,000 employees. Companies that employ more than 5,000 people…

There are 417 rural hospitals that are vulnerable to closure, according to a Feb. 10 report from Chartis, a healthcare advisory services firm.  Chartis’ Rural Hospital Vulnerability Index assesses more than a dozen indicators to identify which are statistically significant for determining the likelihood of closure. The number of overall…

About 2,100 nurses and healthcare workers from four hospitals operated by Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare are set to strike this month across California and Nevada. Six things to know: 1. One-day strikes are planned at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, Calif. (Feb. 19), Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood,…

Successfully approaching organizational change — whether it involves new technology, policies or workflows — is a key responsibility for hospital and health system CEOs, especially in 2026 as they navigate a convergence of financial strain, workforce pressure and emerging tools like artificial intelligence. Leaders say some of their most important…

A majority of nurses who left bedside roles in recent years are willing to return, with adequate staffing levels cited as the main factor that would reattract them, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia. The study, published Feb. 9…

CMS has issued fines to 28 hospitals for alleged price transparency violations. Here are the fine amounts CMS has levied against those hospitals: UF Health North (Jacksonville, Fla.): $979,000 Northside Hospital Atlanta: $883,180 Jackson Memorial Hospital (Miami): $871,122 Community First Medical Center (Chicago): $847,740 Holy Cross Hospital (Silver Spring, Md.):…

Patients who take advantage of zero-cost preventive screenings see better health outcomes and reduced spending, according to January research from BCBS Association and Blue Health Intelligence. The groups reviewed claims data of BCBS members with breast or colorectal cancer. The research pointed to lower likelihood of invasive tests and treatment. Eighty-one percent…

The CDC on Feb. 4 published a new framework for hospitals aimed at reducing missed, delayed and incorrect diagnoses, positioning diagnostic excellence as a patient safety priority alongside efforts such as antibiotic stewardship. The framework, titled “Core Elements of Hospital Diagnostic Excellence,” outlines key actions hospitals can take to improve…

Nurses’ clinical intervention and barcode medication scanning emerged as the two biggest safeguards preventing patient harm in intensive care units at Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai, according to a study published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. Researchers analyzed 288 near misses reported in 2024 from inpatient critical…

Eighteen attorneys general are urging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, to reinstate minimum staffing requirements for skilled nursing facilities. The minimum staffing requirements, along with other protections, were established by the Nursing Home Reform initiative. These include set minimum staffing standards for nursing…

Health systems are increasing their expectations for nurse managers without proper support, which risks workforce stability, according to a Feb. 5 article from Vizient and Kaufman Hall.  The position “has become increasingly unsustainable” because of elevated turnover and growing scopes of control, with 1 in 4 nurse managers overseeing more…

With health systems now controlling the majority of U.S. hospital beds, mergers often promise better care. However, a paper published in September 2025 in Social Science & Medicine by University of Pennsylvania researchers Mark Pauly, PhD, and Lawton Burns, PhD, found the claims do not hold up. The paper, obtained…

As the fastest-growing U.S. state, South Carolina’s population growth is prompting health systems to expand and strengthen their workforce to meet rising demand for care.  Driven by a net domestic migration increase of 66,622, the state’s population grew 1.5%, or by 79,958 residents, between July 1, 2024, and July 1,…

As U.S. immigration officials receive access to Medicaid beneficiary data, hospitals and states are unsure whether to warn patients who are immigrants, according to a Feb. 6 KFF Health News report.  Healthcare facilities are facing a dilemma: Telling patients the Department of Homeland Security may access their personal information could…

The White House launched TrumpRx.gov Feb. 5, a federal direct-to-consumer platform offering discounts on 40 high-cost prescription drugs. The site was first announced in September when the administration began negotiating most-favored-nation pricing agreements requiring drugmakers to match U.S. prices to the lowest paid in other developed countries. As of February,…

Clinical leaders across the country are well aware of the challenges individuals face when they are uninsured: delays in care and worsening health conditions, which ultimately lead to more complex and costly treatment. The prospect of a widening pool of uninsured is increasingly an imminent reality. Millions of people are…

For nurses at Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, tech adoption hinges on one question: Does it improve patient care? “Nurses have long memories,” said Lavonia Thomas, DNP, RN, chief nursing informatics and innovation officer of MD Anderson. If a technology fails — especially as a result of…

Hospital supply chain leaders say the playbook that worked just a few years ago no longer holds.  Global economic instability, fragile supplier networks, pricing pressures and uneven clinical purchasing patterns inside hospitals are converging at the same time health systems are demanding greater savings from supply operations — leaving leaders…

President Donald Trump signed the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act into law Feb. 3 after the House voted 217-214 to approve it, ending a three-and-a-half-day partial government shutdown. The vote saw 21 Republicans reach across party lines to vote no and 21 Democrats vote…

Massachusetts has the most hospitals per 100,000 rural residents while Delaware has the fewest, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill report. The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC-Chapel Hill used CMS’ rural health transformation program data to determine the number of healthcare…