Health care professionals and advocates have sounded the alarm on the historically low Medicaid reimbursement for over a decade, but state lawmakers, on both sides of the political divide, have been unable to get a bill off the ground that would raise it for one reason or another.
Jefferson Health has reached a new, multi-year agreement with Cigna. All Jefferson hospitals, physician practices, and providers will remain in-network with Cigna. The agreement is retroactively effective from March 15. Details were not released.
Linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid found in seed oils such as soybean and safflower oil, and animal products including pork and eggs, specifically enhances the growth of the hard-to-treat "triple negative" breast cancer subtype, according to a preclinical study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The discovery could lead to new dietary and pharmaceutical strategies against breast and other cancers.
Staff shortages and employee burnout are already a pressing problem in the healthcare sector. Furthermore, Deloitte predicts that without intervention, the world will be short of some 18 million healthcare professionals, mostly in lower-income countries. At the same time, geopolitical uncertainty prevails, new technologies are changing how the sector operates and social expectations are continually evolving, with implications for what healthcare workers expect from their employers.
Fueled by outbreaks in multiple states, including a large one centered in west Texas, the nation's measles total reached 607 cases today, with 124 new cases reported over the past week, according to an update today from the CDC. The nation is battling its worst spike in cases since 2019, fueled by outbreaks in communities where vaccine uptake is lower and by increased global spread of the virus. The CDC said 2 more jurisdictions reported cases this week, raising the total to 22—21 states and New York City. One more outbreak was reported, making six so far, and 93% of cases confirmed so far are part of outbreaks.
Medicare's financial future unexpectedly got a lot rosier, at least according to some federal budget wonks. The Congressional Budget Office recently published its long-term predictions of the federal budget and buried a big surprise for people who follow the Medicare program. The government's primary piggy bank that pays for Medicare benefits won't be depleted until 2052 — 17 years later than what CBO analysts predicted last year.