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When the government entered a partial shutdown Oct. 1, hospitals across the country faced a major task: discharging, relocating or shifting care programs for the thousands of patients in hospital at home programs. With Congress at a standoff over healthcare cuts and Affordable Care Act premium tax subsidies, the body failed to reauthorize the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS') pandemic-era Acute Hospital Care at Home program, along with Medicare telehealth services.
Section 6001 of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) effectively banned physician-owned hospitals (POH) in the United States. This legislation was nominally motivated by concerns over conflict-of-interest when physicians are stakeholders in the business of medicine, but in reality, was the result of political horse-trading to secure enough votes to pass the ACA. Section 6001 sacrificed physicians’ interests, in effect benefiting the American Hospital Association and large insurance companies who collectively must have celebrated the elimination of a major source of market competition.
Last week, Proofpoint, Inc., a cybersecurity and compliance company, and Ponemon Institute, an IT security research organization, released the results of their fourth annual survey on the effects of cybersecurity in healthcare. The report, Cyber Insecurity in Healthcare: The Cost and Impact on Patient Safety and Care 2025, shows that 72 percent of healthcare organizations that faced common cyberattacks—such as ransomware, cloud breaches, supply chain attacks, and business email compromise (BEC) - experienced disruptions to patient care, up from 69 percent last year.
As Insurers Drop GLP-1 Coverage, Advocates Search for a Hero in Obesity
With roughly two in five U.S. adults affected by obesity, GLP-1 drugs have emerged as a promising solution — but their steep price remains a significant hurdle. For instance, GLP-1 drugs have a list price ranging from $936 to $1,349 before insurance coverage, rebates or other discounts are applied. Given the expense, several insurers have decided to stop covering GLP-1s for weight loss, leading to outrage among physicians and advocates, though they are still covering the drug for patients who have diabetes.
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