Tom Nickels, executive vice president for government relations and public policy, has been with the trade group since 1994. In that time, he's championed hospitals' interests before Congress, regulatory agencies and the courts.

Vaccine distribution could be carried out within 24 hours after the FDA authorization.

CMS on Wednesday moved forward with changes designed to increase provider competition, including allowing physician-owned hospitals to expand under certain circumstances.

The final rule permanently expands telehealth services, changes quality reporting under the Medicare Shared Savings Program, reworks payments and coding for physicians, and expands the scope of practice for some clinicians.

There is no consensus about what overall spending on primary-care spending should be, but research indicates other developed nations spend much more than the U.S.

Despite a federal recommendation that long-term care residents and staff should be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines, there will be some challenges, experts say.

Ballad officials said pausing the surgeries was a difficult decision that will impact patients' quality of life and the system's finances. But they said it was necessary to free up staff to provide bedside care instead.

As the decision looms for President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration, a new analysis argues for targeting the first vaccines to the same low-income Black, Hispanic and Native American households that have disproportionately suffered from the coronavirus.

Britain authorized a COVID-19 vaccine for use Wednesday, greenlighting the first shot backed up by rigorous scientific review.

Live updates from Modern Healthcare on the coronavirus outbreak and how COVID-19 is affecting the healthcare industry.

Jeb Dunkelberger replaced Steve Wigginton, who led the health plan venture through its first two-plus years.

U.S. hospitals slammed with COVID-19 patients are trying to lure nurses and doctors out of retirement, recruiting students and new graduates who have yet to earn their licenses and offering eye-popping salaries in a desperate bid to ease staffing shortages.

"It's kind of funny for me that you would criticize planning and anticipating a public need like this," said Dr. Tony Slonim, CEO of Renown.

In an effort to boost funding for certain primary-care services provided under Medicare, CMS has proposed slashing reimbursements for other services, including specialty care.

The coronavirus pandemic largely hit urban areas first, but the autumn surge is devastating rural America, too. The U.S. is now averaging more than 170,000 new cases each day, and it's taking a toll from the biggest hospitals down to the little ones.

FDA's Dr. Stephen Hahn said federal officials would take the time needed to "get this right" as they review COVID-19 vaccines, despite increasing pressure and growing frustration from President Donald Trump that approval is taking too long.

As hospitals prepare to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in a matter of weeks, many haven't determined whether they'll require employees to get vaccinated amid safety and efficacy concerns.

Hospital operating margins are poised to fall as COVID-19 cases increase, data show. Although federal relief funding gave some relief, the median hospital operating margin dropped 1.2 percentage points year over year, and 1.7 percentage points through October, Kaufman Hall found.

The health system will become an investor in CarepathRx, which offers infusion treatment oversight and specialty drug prescription optimization as well as medication management services for chronically ill patients.

Healthcare- and biotech-focused blank-check firms, or special purpose acquisition companies, are increasing in number thanks to the bullish stock market and the pandemic, but market saturation lurks around the corner.