Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week.
1. CMS relaxes 60-day overpayment rule requirements
CMS released a final rule that provides clarification to healthcare providers regarding their obligation to return overpayments to avoid False Claims Act liability. Mandated by the Affordable Care Act, the 60-day overpayment rule requires a healthcare provider that receives an overpayment from the state or federal government to report the overpayment within 60 days of the date on which the overpayment was identified. If a provider fails to report an overpayment, liability under the False Claims Act may be triggered.
2. Island of Hawaii declares state of emergency over dengue fever outbreak
Following the confirmation of more than 250 dengue fever cases over the last four months, the mayor of Hawaii's Big Island declared a state of emergency, according to a Reuters report.
3. IRS identifies automated cyberattack on 100k+ taxpayers
The IRS identified and halted a cyberattack involving 464,000 unique Social Security numbers. The attack occurred last month. The automated attack focused on the Electronic Filing PIN application on IRS.gov. Of the 464,000 SSNs, 101,000 were successfully used to access an e-file PIN. No personal taxpayer information was compromised or disclosed by IRS systems, according to the breach notice.
4. Jackson Memorial fires employees for inappropriately accessing NFL player's medical record
Miami-based Jackson Memorial hospital, where NFL player Jason Pierre-Paul underwent treatment for a finger injury, fired two employees who accessed the football player's medical records, NJ.com reported.
5. Missouri hospital to close after incurring $17M in operating losses
SoutheastHEALTH in Cape Girardeau, Mo., will close one of its four hospitals in March, according to a KFVS news report. On Tuesday, the health system said it plans to close Southeast Health Center of Reynolds County in Ellington, Mo., and its related clinics March 11.
6. 15 things for healthcare leaders to know about Obama's 2017 budget
President Barack Obama shared his $4.1 trillion budget proposal Tuesday for the 2017 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. He outlined spending plans for biomedical research, the cancer moonshot, combating prescription drug abuse, mental healthcare and Medicare, among other healthcare initiatives.
7. St. Luke's to give back 2 Idaho hospitals under AG settlement
Boise, Idaho-based St. Luke's Health System reached an agreement with the Idaho Attorney General to transfer ownership of two hospitals back to the districts that gave the facilities to St. Luke's several years ago.
8. CDC finds strongest link yet between Zika and microcephaly
CDC officials found traces of the Zika virus in the tissue of two babies in Brazil who had microcephaly and died. "This is the strongest evidence to date that Zika is the cause of microcephaly," Tom Frieden, MD, PhD, director of the CDC, told a congressional panel, according to a HealthDay report.
9. GW medical school can't identify cadavers, has stopped accepting donated bodies
Washington, D.C.-based George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences stopped accepting donated bodies because it can't identify as many as 50 cadavers, according to The Washington Post.
10. High rate of newborn deaths after heart surgery raises questions for Philadelphia hospital
Between 2009 and 2014, one in four babies who underwent complex heart surgery at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia died following the operations, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer investigation.