Louisiana has officially lowered its projected budget deficit for the budget cycle starting July 1 from $994 million to $648 million, leaving additional funding for healthcare initiatives the administration was considering cutting, according to The Times-Picayune.  By Leo Vartorella - 4/13/18

Leaders of small teams with high growth potential have the unique opportunity to establish core values that can carry through as an organization grows and thrives, according to the Harvard Business Review.  By Leo Vartorella - 4/13/18

Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions April 12 calling on him to stop delaying approvals for medical marijuana research.  By Leo Vartorella - 4/13/18

Milwaukee officials are urging Ascension Wisconsin to postpone its controversial scale back of services at Milwaukee-based Wheaton Franciscan-St. Joseph Hospital, which primarily serves a low-income neighborhood, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.  By Alia Paavola - 4/13/18

Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems laid off more than 70 corporate employees this week, sources inside the company told the Nashville Business Journal.  By Ayla Ellison - 4/13/18

Kalispell (Mont.) Regional Healthcare laid off less than 1 percent of its more than 4,000-person workforce as it realigns to adapt to the changing healthcare environment.  By Kelly Gooch - 4/12/18

St. Louis-based Express Scripts, the nation's largest pharmacy benefits manager, will lay off 456 workers when it closes its pharmacy site in Columbus, Ohio, later this year, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed April 10.  By Ayla Ellison - 4/11/18

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., announced April 11 he will not seek re-election in November and will retire from Congress, according to CNN.  By Leo Vartorella - 4/11/18

White House physician Ronny Jackson, MD, will soon appear before Congress to confirm his nomination as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, but the hearing could quickly turn into a referendum on the potential privatization of the VA, according to The Hill.  By Leo Vartorella - 4/11/18

President Donald Trump signed an executive order April 11 instructing federal agencies that provide assistance to low-income individuals to strengthen work requirements if they already exist and look for ways to implement them if they do not, according to The Washington Post.  By Leo Vartorella - 4/11/18

Cleveland-based University Hospitals announced April 10 James Goldfarb, MD, division chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility for UH, will depart from his position as head of the UH Fertility Center, according to Fox 8 Cleveland.  By Alyssa Rege - 4/11/18

What if the CEO of your organization went to your executive team within their first 90 days on the job and said they wanted to offer patients the option to claim full refunds with no questions asked?  By Leo Vartorella - 4/10/18

Three Texas HHS Commission employees were fired after Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott penned a letter to agency executives April 9 citing the department's "failure to ensure the integrity" of the state's insurance contract procurement process, according to The Texas Tribune.  By Alyssa Rege - 4/10/18

Successful organizations are often based on a foundation of innovative solutions to everyday problems and bringing those solutions to market. At the heart of these successful organizations are employees who pursue what is possible, rather than what has been done before.  By Scott Caldwell, President and CEO, The Resource Group - 4/10/18

High profile executives are often called to testify before Congress to either draw upon their expertise or defend their actions during a scandal. While there is no experience quite like appearing before Congress, there are a number of steps executives can take to prepare, according to the Harvard Business Review. By Leo Vartorella - 4/10/18

Roger Severino, director of HHS' Office for Civil Rights, has taken it upon himself to protect the religious rights of healthcare workers after experiencing religious discrimination in his own life, according to The Hill.  By Leo Vartorella - 4/10/18

Ximena Barreto, deputy director of communications at HHS, has been placed on administrative leave after Media Matters uncovered tweets and videos she's made supporting the "Pizzagate" conspiracy, according to The Hill.  By Leo Vartorella - 4/10/18

HHS Secretary Alex Azar made five appointments to the department April 6.  By Julie Spitzer - 4/9/18

Newsflash: The healthcare industry is not being disrupted by digital technology.  By Jonathan L. Manis, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Sutter Health - 4/9/18

It only took Brian Davis 70 seconds to find out why his newborn daughter's feet were turned inward and how to treat her.  By Morgan Haefner - 4/9/18