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There is mounting concern among some US lawmakers about the nation’s ongoing shortage of health-care workers, and the leaders of historically Black medical schools are calling for more funding to train a more diverse workforce. As of Monday, in areas where a health workforce shortage has been identified, the United States needs more than 17,000 additional primary care practitioners, 12,000 dental health practitioners and 8,200 mental health practitioners, according to data from the Health Resources & Services Administration. Those numbers are based on data that HRSA receives from state offices and health departments. (Howard, 5/16)

Mandatory nurse staffing ratios in Connecticut’s hospitals, a lauded concept that proponents said is sorely needed as facilities face staffing shortages, will not move forward this legislative session. Instead, lawmakers are shifting their focus to bolstering hospital staffing committees, which were formed to give workers a voice in staffing plans, and creating a statewide oversight panel that will act as a mediator if problems arise. (Carlesso, 5/17)

At a dialysis center in Brooklyn, Nardel Joseph used to try making friends with the other patients, until they began dying one by one. As her kidneys failed from an autoimmune disease, Ms. Joseph, 34, realized she might be next. A new kidney would offer Ms. Joseph the best hope for regaining her health, but as an undocumented immigrant who lacked health insurance, her odds of getting a kidney transplant had been close to zero. “It’s unfair,” Ms. Joseph said. (Goldstein, 5/16)

Each situation — and each medical bill — is different and requires its own approach to solve, said Susan Null, co-owner of Systemedic, a medical billing and patient advocacy organization. Patient advocates and attorneys who specialize in medical debt offered these tips to save on medical costs. (Bever, 5/15)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: An AI Chatbot May Be Your Next Therapist. Will It Actually Help Your Mental Health?

In the past few years, 10,000 to 20,000 apps have stampeded into the mental health space, offering to “disrupt” traditional therapy. With the frenzy around AI innovations like ChatGPT, the claim that chatbots can provide mental health care is on the horizon. The numbers explain why: Pandemic stresses led to millions more Americans seeking treatment. At the same time, there has long been a shortage of mental health professionals in the United States; more than half of all counties lack psychiatrists. Given the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that insurers offer parity between mental and physical health coverage, there is a gaping chasm between demand and supply. (Rosenthal, 5/17)

Hippocratic AI is the latest entrant in the generative artificial intelligence market as the new company launched Tuesday morning with $50 million in seed funding. Venture capital firms General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz are backing Hippocratic AI, which will build an industry-specific large language generative AI model for healthcare. Generative AI large language models like OpenAI's ChatGPT can converse with humans, summarize articles and write copy. (Turner, 5/16)

Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes appears to be soon bound for prison after an appeals court Tuesday rejected her bid to remain free while she tries to overturn her conviction in a blood-testing hoax that brought her fleeting fame and fortune. In another ruling issued late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ordered Holmes to pay $452 million in restitution to the victims of her crimes. Holmes is being held jointly liable for that amount with her former lover and top Theranos lieutenant, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who is already in prison after being convicted on a broader range of felonies in a separate trial. (Liedtke, 5/16)