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Providers, associations, technology companies and other health organizations are calling on Congress to extend a federal waiver program offering equal Medicare reimbursement for hospital-at-home care. The program is due to expire at the end of 2024. In a Monday letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), more than 50 stakeholders said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver program should be extended by at least five years. (Eastabrook, 3/11)

Steward Health Care confirmed it wants to sell its Massachusetts hospitals amid financial troubles and scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers. Steward, a for-profit national hospital operator once owned by private equity firm Cereberus Capital Management, has received a “strong level of interest from numerous qualified health systems” regarding its nine Massachusetts hospitals, a spokesperson said in a statement. (Kacik, 3/11)

Worried about hospitals closing and higher costs for patients, state lawmakers are increasingly tangling with hospitals over potential health care mergers, in some cases derailing deals they think don’t serve the public interest. ... After a pandemic-era slowdown, health care mergers and acquisitions have risen steadily over the past two years. But some proposed hospital deals in Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota and elsewhere have fizzled amid heavy pushback from lawmakers, organized labor and grassroots organizations. (Claire Vollers, 3/11)

The Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs launched a shared electronic health record system at a Chicago hospital on Saturday, completing the military's adoption of the system and moving the VA a step closer to restarting its rollout across its 172 medical centers and clinics. VA officials said the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, which serves more than 75,000 patients per year, adopted the Oracle Cerner electronic health record system -- the first launch for a VA site since it paused the program in April 2023 amid concerns over patient safety, training and user-friendliness. (Kime, 3/11)

Big tech firm Microsoft joined a group of 16 health systems on Monday to launch a stakeholder group that's focused on implementing artificial intelligence guardrails. Microsoft is calling the consortium the Trustworthy & Responsible AI Safety Network (TRAIN). Initial participants include Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine, Boston-based Mass General Brigham, Columbia, Maryland-based MedStar Health and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health. (Turner, 3/11)

The American Academy of Dermatology on Sunday voted to reject a proposal to end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, in what Black dermatologists are calling a small victory for the organization and the field in general. The academy, a nonprofit organization of dermatologists in the U.S. and Canada, has been embroiled in DEI-related controversy since February, when dozens of members co-authored a resolution looking to put an end to DEI initiatives and programs being implemented in the institution. (Adams, 3/11)

Nurses at University of Chicago Medicine on Monday called off plans for a one-day strike, after reaching a tentative agreement on a new contract. Approximately 2,800 nurses had been preparing to walk off the job on Thursday, but National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United confirmed Monday afternoon they had reached a deal with management on a new contract. (Feurer, 3/11)

Healthcare unions say contracts that specify how many clinicians should work each shift aren’t enough to hold hospitals accountable for ensuring sufficient staffing levels. Staffing agreements have become increasingly common in union contracts over the past few years as bargaining committees seek to mitigate nurse shortages that are expected to reach 195,400 by 2031, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Devereaux, 3/11)