Pandemic spurs rise of infections contracted at healthcare facilities
Bloodstream infections associated with central line catheters were responsible for the largest rise in hospital-acquired infections from 2019 to 2020, according to the CDC.
Pfizer, Merck launch large new trials of oral COVID-19 drugs
Both companies are racing to prove their oral antivirals as treatments for COVID-19. Key clinical results could come later this year.
Hospital lobby urges Congress for additional extension of Medicare cut relief
The cuts, if they go through, will result in an estimated loss of $36 billion in funding in 2022 alone, the Federation of American Hospitals said.
Hospitals lose legal challenge over changes to DSH payments
A federal judge sided with HHS, pointing to a portion of the Medicare law that prohibits any administrative and judicial review of how the department arrived at its calculations.
Medicare insolvency still expected by 2026, unchanged by COVID-19, trustees say
The forecast is a bit of a bright spot for the otherwise grim financial prospects of the program, as experts worried COVID-19 would result in the fund that finances Medicare Part A running out of money faster than previously expected.
Pandemic safety protections, wage increase key for nursing unions in new contracts
The nation’s largest nursing union has reached agreements on more than 50 contracts covering around 27,000 nurses across the country at major hospital chains since February.