Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed House Bill 2789 into law May 28, allowing registered nurses to bill Medicaid directly for certain care-management services.  The new law will take effect Jan. 1, 2026, and permits licensed registered nurses to seek reimbursement…

During primary care visits, patients often have immediate concerns and questions they are hoping to address. Often, conversations about overdue vaccinations, screenings and other preventive care needs can get pushed to the back burner.  To help ensure patients get the…

The CDC updated its childhood immunization schedule May 29, recommending a shared decision-making process for healthy children 6 months and older. “Where the parent presents with a desire for their child to be vaccinated, children 6 months and older may…

More physicians are joining hospital- or private equity-owned practices instead of independent groups, according to an American Medical Association analysis. The report found 42.2% of physicians were in private practice last year, which is an 18 percentage point drop from…

States with Medicaid expansions spend more per enrollee overall than nonexpansion states, and nearly half of expansion states’ enrollees have a chronic condition, a May 28 KFF Health News report found. On May 22, a number of Medicaid provisions that…

In the last seven months, the Medical Council of Canada has seen a 750% increase in the number of Americans creating accounts on its site to initiate the licensure process, NPR reported May 29. The number of American physicians seeking…

Moderna announced that HHS is withdrawing millions of dollars it had pledged to support the company’s efforts to develop a human avian flu vaccine.  During the Biden administration, HHS announced plans to provide Moderna with $176 million last summer followed…

Advocate Health, a 69-hospital system based in Charlotte, N.C., is seeking systemwide hospital accreditation with The Joint Commission.  The initiative will enable hospital-to-hospital benchmarking within the system and with other hospitals with similar geographic profiles, according to a May 27…

Mental health among mothers in the U.S. has declined significantly over the past decade, according to a new study based on data from more than 198,000 mothers. The research, published May 27 in JAMA Internal Medicine, found a steep drop…

Patient volumes are rising year after year at Shriners Children’s — but access is keeping pace. Through creative programs and partnerships, the health system is finding new ways to reach patients who might otherwise fall through the cracks. Bill Munley,…