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The American Academy of Physician Associates is calling out the American Medical Association for allegedly spreading misinformation and making disparaging remarks about the profession. In a letter to the AMA dated Tuesday and made public, the trade group said the AMA has not responded to its request to meet to discuss "the impact of AMA’s disparaging rhetoric targeted at the physician associate profession." (DeSilva, 9/3)

Attorneys representing both living and deceased patients of an Oregon hospital filed a $303 million lawsuit against the facility on Tuesday after a nurse was accused of replacing prescribed fentanyl with nonsterile tap water in intravenous drips. The wrongful death and medical malpractice complaint accuses Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford of negligence. The suit says the hospital failed to monitor medication administration procedures and prevent drug diversion by their employees, among other claims. A spokesperson said the hospital had no comment. (9/3)

Tuesday is the first day of school for many students and school nurses in some areas of the state are facing pressures on staffing. Tara Cliff, health services supervisor at Eastern Carver County schools, said that turnover has been a challenge for her district so she’s spending the start of the school year getting new nurses ready. (Moini and Bui, 9/3)

Thousands of healthcare workers nationwide are negotiating for new contracts, and staff at some facilities are preparing for the possibility of strikes in the coming months. Nurses at HCA Healthcare’s MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas voted last week to authorize a strike if no progress is made in negotiating for a contract that ensures higher pay, meal breaks for nurses and better retention strategies. (Devereaux, 9/3)

UnitedHealthcare is launching a program next month geared toward streamlining prior authorization for qualifying providers. The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary's "gold card" program, offered across its commercial, individual exchange, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid business lines, will allow certain providers to use a simplified process for about 500 procedure codes. (DeSilva, 9/3)

Since most Americans aren’t eligible for Medicare before age 65, many younger retirees rely on Marketplace health insurance, which offers lower monthly premiums through the end of 2025 thanks to boosted tax breaks. But retirees can face a costly tax surprise without proper planning, experts say. (Dore, 9/3)

Bill Walczak knows as much about community health care as anyone in Boston. And the closing last weekend of the Carney Hospital in Dorchester — his neighborhood — has left him gutted. Not just sad, but angry. “I think the parts of state government that are responsible for our health care had an opportunity to save the parts of Carney that are essential — the emergency room, the psychiatric care, and the residency program,” he said Tuesday. “And they chose not to.” (Walker, 9/3)

Prime Healthcare has named Dr. Sunny Bhatia as its first systemwide president, the health system announced Tuesday. The cardiologist was most recently CEO of the health system's West Coast region. He joined Prime in 2011, serving as chief medical officer at its Sherman Oaks Hospital and Encino Hospital Medical Center, both in California. (DeSilva, 9/3)

A new Spotlight investigation reveals that as Steward Health spiraled toward bankruptcy, the CEO used its bank account as his own. (Krueger, Bartlett and McCarthy, 9/3)