�������ýҕ�l

Burnout among US family physicians is around 44% and is associated with a significantly higher likelihood of switching jobs or leaving practice altogether. That trend could lead to lower care satisfaction and increased spending for patients, as well as have substantial financial consequences for health care organizations, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine. (Bergeson, 3/31)

Think of it as preventive medicine for doctor pay. A bipartisan House bill that lawmakers plan to introduce this week would cap annual Medicare physician reimbursement cuts at 2.5% while giving regulators more leeway to set annual payment updates. The Provider Reimbursement Stability Act of 2025 is far from the Medicare payment system overhaul doctors have failed to win for years and it does not include a raise for 2027. (McAuliff, 3/31)

The Trump administration is slow-walking visa renewals for foreign doctors in the United States from the 39 countries from which the president has banned visitors. President Donald Trump says people from the countries are national security threats, but the visa pause is forcing physicians who’ve lived in the U.S. for years to stop working and exacerbating staffing shortages that are a longstanding headache for hospital administrators, more than a dozen foreign doctors told POLITICO. (Levien, 4/1)

The report, based on research from the Yale Tobin Center for Economic Policy, found that graduate degrees in medicine, law and pharmacy generally have the highest return on investment. By contrast, degrees in popular fields such as social work, psychology, and curriculum and instruction may actually have a zero to negative return after factoring in the full cost. (Wallack, 3/31)

Eric Haeger, MD, of Washington state, was sentenced to a year in prison for his role in a scheme involving recalled Philips breathing devices, federal prosecutors announced. Haeger will also have to pay a $60,000 fine and nearly $350,000 in restitution, and he'll have a year of supervised release once he's released from prison, according to the press release. (Fiore, 3/31)

The former chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board was indicted on charges that he drugged and abducted patients at a psychiatric facility in order to get more money from health care reimbursements, according to an indictment released on Monday. An Arkansas grand jury indicted Dr. Brian Hyatt in early March on charges that he gave numerous patients strong, mind-altering sedatives in order to keep them at the facility without a medical justification. He is charged with two federal counts of kidnapping and distribution of the controlled substances that he allegedly used to subdue patients. (3/31)

Kurt Small has been named as president and CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, effective May 4. Small is the president of Medicaid for Elevance Health. He will succeed Ja’Ron Bridges, who has been serving as interim president and CEO since Brian Pieninck left the company in September to become president and CEO of GuideWell and its insurer subsidiary Florida Blue, a CareFirst spokesperson said Tuesday. (DeSilva, 3/31)

Elevance Health announced a leadership shake-up across its health insurance and healthcare services divisions on Tuesday. In a news release, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee said the changes are “designed to better align capabilities, accelerate decision-making and improve enterprise efficiency.” The company also said it supports the expansion of Carelon, the healthcare services arm. (Tepper, 3/31)

The new hospital at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri’s Ozarks will begin hosting patients next week. The facility includes more than 225,000 square feet of hospital and clinic space, including three operating rooms, one dedicated C-section room and Level III trauma emergency facilities that can handle events including mass casualty response and decontamination. (Ahl, 3/31)

A mobile healthcare pilot could act as a roadmap for states looking to improve medical access in rural communities and for providers looking to increase revenues. Twenty-two states included mobile medical units in their plans for how to spend part of $50 billion in Rural Healthcare Transformation Program funds. To qualify for the money, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services required states to find ways to expand access to care in underserved areas through innovation. (Eastabrook, 3/31)

UnitedHealthcare announced Thursday it has launched a generative artificial intelligence companion to improve care coordination for its members. The AI-companion, dubbed Avery, allows users to seek information regarding coverage, personal benefits, appointment scheduling, claim approval status, benefits explanations and more. (Gleeson, 3/31)