1. CMS finalizes physician payment rule for 2021: 6 takeaways  Full story

2. 70 workers at West Virginia hospital out due to COVID-19  Full story

3. Allegheny Health records nearly $18M operating loss  Full story

4. Precision Health Virtual Summit: How to make the promise of value-based care a reality. Click here to view on-demand.

5. 6 hospitals closing departments, ending services  Full story

6. Tampa General, USF Health join forces to create research hub  Full story

7. Senators unveil $908B COVID-19 relief bill  Full story

8. 85 hospitals postponing elective procedures amid the COVID-19 resurgence  Full story

9. 3 Must Reads: 

• Help your patients feel safe when returning for care they delayed by employing these action items. Click here for a roadmap to recovery.
• Some of the biggest changes in medicine are coming from leaders on the front line. Click here to learn about new standards of care.
• Do you really know what patients think about your services? Find out why feedback technology is lacking in healthcare and how to get the kind of responses that will lead to better outcomes. 

10. Biden closes in on pick for HHS secretary  Full story

11. Renown CEO defends COVID-19 care site after Trump tweet claims it's 'fake'  Full story 

12. 60+ groups call on Congress to pass surprise billing protections  Full story 

13. Looking for input from financial leaders! Becker's Healthcare is hosting a survey focused on healthcare priorities for 2021. Click here to fill out the 5 minute survey to receive a complementary badge to a Becker's conference and an e-book of the findings.

14. Strained Wisconsin hospitals asking staff to return to work during quarantine  Full story 

15. Daily COVID-19 stats, state-by-state:

• Test positivity rates
• Hospitalizations
• Where the virus is spreading fastest, slowest
• Death rates

Becker's Learning Opportunities

1. Are you still capturing informed consent on paper? Find out how going mobile improves workflow, improves patient satisfaction.

2. The key to a more financially productive primary care practice is the membership-based model. Click here to learn how 1,100 successful practices have followed that path.

3. How well do you understand consumer attitudes toward medical billing and payment? Download this whitepaper to discover how patients approach and interpret healthcare bills.