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. Fitch: Uncompensated care could increase next year under ACA
Without modifications to the ACA, exchange enrollment could suffer and hospitals are likely to see uncompensated care rise next year, according to Fitch Ratings.
2. CHI lays off 459 employees in Texas
Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives' Texas division laid off 459 employees and will leave 161 vacant positions unfilled, according to the Houston Business Journal.
3. NC officials mistakenly send information for 1.2k patients to media outlets
Mecklenburg County, N.C., officials accidentally sent HIPAA-protected information to two media outlets on March 27, impacting at least 1,200 patients, WSOC-TV reports. WSOC-TV was one of the media outlets that received patient information.
4. Jury sides with heart surgeon in $6.4M defamation lawsuit against Memorial Hermann
A Texas jury found Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System guilty of gaming its own peer-review process for financial gain, according to a report in the Houston Chronicle.
5. Gov. Chris Christie to lead Trump's new opioid commission
President Donald Trump on March 29 signed an executive order to develop a commission to address the nation's ongoing opioid epidemic, reports Vox. Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will lead the commission.
6. 1,200 Tufts Medical Center RNs give go-ahead for possible strike
Nearly 1,200 registered nurses at Boston-based Tufts Medical Center voted March 29 for a potential one-day strike after approximately a year of contract negotiations.
7. White House proposes $1.2B in cuts to NIH for 2017
The Trump administration has proposed a $1.2 billion budget cut to the National Institutes of Health to be instituted this fiscal year, according to a report from STAT.
8. Hospital stocks sink as Republicans continue healthcare reform push
Major for-profit hospital operators saw their share prices tumble on March 28 as House Republicans and the White House restarted discussions on legislation to repeal and replace the ACA.
9. 2 patient suicides in 8 days reported at Montefiore Medical Center
Two patients at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y., killed themselves in the span of eight days, according to the New York Daily News.
10. 10 prominent health system CEOs: Physician burnout is a public health crisis — here are 11 things we commit to do about it
The CEOs of the nation's most prominent health systems authored an article in Health Affairs examining the widespread issue of physician burnout, its main contributors, leaders' role in responding to burnout and an 11-item call to action.
11. South Carolina hospital at risk of losing Medicare funding
Greenville (S.C.) Memorial Hospital, part of Greenville Health System, is at risk of losing its Medicare contract following a CMS survey that found the hospital was not in compliance with some Medicare requirements. The CMS investigation was conducted after a patient who was strapped to a gurney died of traumatic asphyxiation.
12. Trump approval rating slips to new low after AHCA pulled
President Donald Trump's approval rating hit 36 percent March 27 — his lowest approval rating since taking office, according to a Gallup polling report.