As large language models like Claude 4 express uncertainty about whether they are conscious, researchers race to decode their inner workings, raising profound questions about machine awareness, ethics and the risks of uncontrolled AI evolution
Roughly 60 entities in the healthcare sector will pledge to making patient data more accessible and speeding its delivery among patients, clinicians and payers, according to an HHS employee granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive plans. The White House and CMS are expected to announce the commitments on Wednesday. The agency hopes the commitments will stoke companies to make it easier for patients to import their data into an app of their choice, where they can manage their day-to-day health and easily share their history with doctors.
For the second year running, HCA is potentially not in compliance with its 2019 purchase agreement for the Asheville-based Mission Health hospital system. The repeated compliance issues raise questions about whether HCA is fulfilling its promise to maintain health care services for Western North Carolina residents. HCA purchased Mission Health, the region's largest hospital system, for $1.5 billion in 2019. In allowing the acquisition, the attorney general's office placed key stipulations on the purchase, to which HCA agreed.
Vermont's largest hospital system announced dozens of layoffs this week as part of a plan to cut nearly $185 million in spending by the end of next year. It's an effort to rein in ballooning health care costs in the state, which are among the highest in the country. Hospitals in the state account for nearly half of the state's total spending on healthcare, and UVM Medical Center in Burlington, part of the health network, is by far the largest hospital. It's responsible for more than half of all hospital revenue and is one of the largest employers in the state.