Legal/Regulatory Issues U.S. News & World Report has interviewed American Nurses Association President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. The interview provides a solid overview of the issues that are currently impacting the nursing profession. Those issues include proposed changes to the U.S. Department of Education’s “professional degree” definitions that include…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday released guidance that, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA), describes limits to Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for “certain noncitizens.” AHA stated the guidance involves the implementation of a provision within last July’s federal reconciliation bill…
CBS News Philadelphia reports that a former surgical technician at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., has been charged with stealing $2.5 million in medical supplies, according to a county prosecutor. After a six-month criminal investigation that remains active, Marci M. Staub was charged with theft, receiving stolen property, distribution…
U.S. Reps. John B. Larson (D-CT) and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) last week introduced the bipartisan Outpatient Surgery Access Act of 2026, which intends to lower surgery costs at ASCs for seniors on Medicare. “Outdated Medicare policies are limiting access to high-quality and lower-cost care,” said Rep. Van Duyne. “Our…
Tennessee newspaper The Daily Times reports that Prisma Health is “one approval away” from constructing a 129,000-square-foot outpatient surgery center on land near the Royal Oaks subdivision in Maryville, Tenn., after the city’s Planning Commission approved a rezoning and land use reclassification request last week. The commissioners are consider rezoning an…
The Hartford Courant reports that an unclothed patient under anesthesia for outpatient surgery at Yale New Haven Health Bridgeport Hospital was allegedly photographed by a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) in the surgical suite, according to a lawsuit filed in Superior Court. Even more alarmingly, the patient allegedly wasn’t even under…
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) reports that some rural hospitals in the state are suffering from a “Medicare billing snafu” that is “generating steep financial hardships” for the already struggling facilities. The report says hospital leaders have been “vexed by a recent payment processing change” by CMS that is “effectively holding…
A blog post by health policy, consulting, and lobbying firm McDermott+ dives into the recently released annual report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), the nonpartisan independent legislative branch agency that provides the U.S. Congress with analysis and policy advice on the Medicare program -- with a particular focus on…
National Nurses United (NNU), which identifies itself as the nation’s largest union of RNs with more than 225,000 members, was scheduled to bring its nationwide Red Alert tour to Alameda (Calif.) Hospital on Saturday. It would be the third stop on the tour, which visits a community hospital on a…
Media outlet Mississippi Today reports that Greenwood Leflore Hospital received temporary relief from making payments to the state’s Medicaid system after an order issued by a Hinds County Chancery judge last week. The judge ordered the Mississippi Division of Medicaid to temporarily stop collecting money owed by Greenwood Leflore after…
