The hacking group that reportedly attacked St. Louis-based Ascension typically gives victims between 10 to 12 days to pay ransom before leaking their data.

Site-neutral payment policies are a hot topic every year across the healthcare industry and in Congress. Becker's has compiled the latest updates and policy changes leaders should know in 2024.

A former executive at Loretto Hospital in Chicago faces federal charges alleging she helped embezzle nearly $500,000 from the facility amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Chicago Tribune reported May 13. 

A free speech rights lawsuit filed against Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health was dismissed by a federal judge due to the case not having legal standing, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported May 13. 

 Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, N.J., has broken ground on a major emergency department expansion that will add 19 beds and create separate spaces for patients in need of mental health services.

Eli Lilly's weight loss drug Zepbound could avert up to 627,000 atrial fibrillation cases by 2030, according to Airfinity analysts. 

Michael Stewart was appointed president of Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas, part of Methodist Health System.

Hospitals charged commercial insurers and employers rates 254% higher, on average, than what Medicare paid for the same services in 2022, according to a Rand Corp. report published May 13. 

As hospitals and health systems increase investments in the specialty pharmacy industry, leaders should be nimble in their payer and drugmaker relationships, according to McKesson. 

James (Jim) Tinker, former president and CEO of Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Mercy Medical Center, died April 21. 

A North Carolina administrative judge has upheld the state's decision to award Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth a certificate of need to build a hospital with at least 67 beds in Buncombe County.

Phoenix Children's Hospital has shared plans to open a 44,000-square-foot level five neonatal intensive care unit at its main Thomas Campus in Phoenix on May 15. 

Houston-based Legacy Community Health broke ground on its Legacy Pasadena (Texas) Southmore Clinic May 10, which will be funded in part by a $50 million donation from Houston Methodist. 

The Illinois Nurses Association, which represents nurses at Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet (Ill.), has reached a tentative new labor contract with the nurses' employer.

With fewer people applying for pharmacy degree programs and residencies, it's vital for health system leaders to foster the next generation of chief pharmacy officers, executives told Becker's.

Tammy Razmic was selected as the new CEO of StoneSprings Hospital Center in Sterling, Va., part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare. 

Evanston, Ill.-based Endeavor Health opened its Cardiovascular Institute at Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview, Ill.

In the last two years, Optum has spent $31 billion on acquisitions, The Oregonian reported May 13. 

Many states require a court order to determine involuntary treatment, but independent committees could be a better way of meeting patients' needs, Sandeep Jauhar, MD, PhD, a cardiologist in New York City-based Northwell Health wrote in an opinion piece published in The New York Times May 13.

Myles Wolf, MD, was appointed physician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and chair of the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.