The 2026 proposal is seeking to cut $33.3 billion in discretionary funding for HHS, representing a 26.2% reduction compared to the fiscal 2025 budget. This includes a $3.6 billion reduction in discretionary funding for the CDC, an $18 billion reduction for NIH, a $674 million reduction for CMS Program Management and a $240 million reduction for Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response Hospital Preparedness Program.
Baxter International, a prominent healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturer, reports that President Trump's tariffs will likely cost the company $60 million to $70 million this year. Baxter makes a number of pharmaceutical and hospital products, but may be best known for being a leading source of IV fluid bags.
Google Chief Health Officer Karen DeSalvo, MD, says she will be retiring. DeSalvo's career at the company has spanned nearly 6 years and has witnessed some of the most crucial and historical milestones in healthcare, both for the organization and society as a whole.
Nurses at Miami Valley Hospital are working on organizing to form a union, and organizers say they have been coming up against tough pushback from the hospital.
Staffing ratios refer to the number of patients a nurse is responsible for caring for. Nursing advocates across the state have repeatedly tried to get laws passed mandating certain nurse-to-patient ratios for different hospital settings, but few lawmakers have ever backed them.
More than 15,000 nurses in Duluth and the Twin Cities recently launched contract negotiations with area hospitals.
The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA), who represents nurses with Aspirus St. Luke’s and Essentia Health, held a press conference in St. Paul Thursday morning to go over their concerns.
An MNA representative specifically said they had concerns that hospitals were operating with unsafe staffing, compromising on patient care, and driving experienced nurses out of the profession. Nurses are now pushing for a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio. MNA said that research shows that lower nurse-to-patient assignments reduce hospital infections, readmissions, and deaths, and lowers healthcare costs.