An explosion occurred early Saturday morning at Harvard Medical School's Goldenson Building in Boston, with authorities now searching for two suspects who fled the scene. The Harvard University Police Department provided details in a statement to Newsweek, confirming that at approximately 2:48 a.m. local time, an officer responding to a fire alarm witnessed two unidentified individuals fleeing the building at 220 Longwood Avenue before discovering the explosion on the fourth floor. The Boston Fire Department's Arson Unit responded and determined the explosion was intentional after conducting an initial assessment of the scene. No injuries were reported.
Effective January 1, 2026, California's Senate Bill 41 (SB 41) fundamentally reforms pharmacy benefit manager practices. It prohibits spread pricing, mandates a passthrough pricing model, and requires rebates to be passed to payers. The law bans discriminatory network steering, protects pharmacy ancillary services, and establishes new claims payment integrity rules. PBMs must be licensed by 2027 and owe a fiduciary duty to payers. These changes increase transparency, level the playing field for nonaffiliated pharmacies, and introduce new enforcement mechanisms, with provisions phasing in through 2029.
Private equity investors have a growing influence in the healthcare industry, investing more than $1 trillion during the past decade, mostly in skilled nursing facilities, hospitals and specialty physician's groups, according to a report published last week in the journal Health Affairs. PE acquired more than $200 billion in healthcare properties in 2021 alone during the instability of the pandemic era, the authors noted. PE investors owned 11% of nursing homes and 7.3% of hospices that year. By 2024, at least 1,049 unique healthcare deals involved at least 676 PE firms. That's an average of 87 deals per month. 'The outcomes of PE ownership are highly dependent on the type of practice, the market in which that practice is located and the strategies PE firms employ in those organizations,' the authors said. 'Nonetheless, as the volume of PE-owned practices continues to increase, there are emerging trends in the landscape that can cut across individual markets and provide meaningful insights into how PE may be shaping the healthcare ecosystem.' PE ownership can be associated with negative clinical outcomes, the authors noted. For example, residents might have reduced access to care in private equity-owned facilities, as investors might close less profitable service lines. In some cases, however, PE was found to have some positive outcomes, such as a decrease in COVID-19 outbreaks in staff members and residents in PE-owned nursing homes.
Paychex founder Tom Golisano has committed $253 million to six university-based children's hospitals across the country. The six hospitals will join four other Golisano Children's hospitals to form the ten-institution Golisano Children's Alliance that was launched this week.
A New Hampshire man is resuming dialysis after living with a gene-edited pig kidney for a record 271 days, doctors said Monday. His experience is helping researchers in their quest for animal-to-human transplants. Tim Andrews, 67, had the organ removed on Oct. 23 because its function was declining, according to Mass General Brigham. In a statement, his transplant team called Andrews 'a selfless medical pioneer and an inspiration' to patients with kidney failure.
In 2026, we will continue to see technology driving better healthcare outcomes and more efficient services. Doctors, nurses, researchers and mental health specialists will have more tools than ever to assist in diagnosis and developing new treatments, while new wearable and connected technology unlocks new possibilities for treating patients outside of traditional hospital environments.