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UNC Health is notifying nearly 200,000 of its patients that their coverage could be affected by a dispute with UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest health insurance companies in the U.S. UNC Health is in the middle of a contract negotiation with UnitedHealthcare, and the hospital network said in a letter it is sending to patients that the two parties are far apart over reimbursement policies and rate increases. (Eanes and Graff, 10/13)

A last ditch effort to save St. Mark’s Medical Center failed this week, forcing the only hospital in Fayette County to close amid ongoing financial struggles. The 18-year-old hospital announced last week that it would close on Thursday, eliminating more than 50 full and part-time jobs in La Grange, a rural town of about 4,400 people. (Salhotra, 10/12)

Nearly two dozen critical access hospitals in North Dakota have formed a clinically integrated network, bucking the historical trend of rural hospitals seeking acquisitions by larger health systems. The alliance of 23 hospitals is designed to allow the facilities to reduce costs through group purchasing, aggregating shared services and collaborating to add specialty care, executives said. It could also improve negotiating leverage with commercial insurers and keep patients in their respective communities as the hospitals share clinicians. (Kacik, 10/12)

Kaiser Permanente and the union representing healthcare workers resumed negotiations on Thursday, more than a week after contract talks broke off at the start of a 72-hour strike by 75,000 nurses, medical technicians and support staff. Company and union spokespersons said the two sides met in person late in the day at a San Francisco Bay-area hotel. Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su was present, as previously announced, to play a role as mediator, a spokesperson said. (Gorman, 10/12)

“In addition to paying the highest fine the DMHC has ever levied against a health plan, Kaiser Permanente has agreed to make significant improvements to the plan’s operations, processes and procedures and business model to better assist enrollees with accessing care,” Mary Watanabe, the department’s director, said in a statement. “The DMHC is committed to using its full authority to hold Kaiser accountable and ensure enrollees have access to behavioral health care when they need it.” (Egelko, 10/12)

Unions representing nurses in Illinois are pushing for legislation that would impose mandatory staff-to-patient ratios in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities. But lobby groups representing hospitals and nursing homes say they are steadfastly opposed to the legislation, arguing that a nationwide nursing shortage makes it impossible to comply with such a mandate. (Hancock, 10/12)

Hayti, Mo.-based Pemiscot Memorial Health Systems plans to lay off 10 employees — 10 percent of its workforce — due to challenges including excess staffing and reduced patient volumes, K8 News reported Oct. 12. The layoffs affect 10 employees from across the system, not within any one department, according to the report. Declining volumes, decreased reimbursement and delays in payments were contributing factors in the decision. (Condon, 10/12)

On any given morning, Teresa Peixoto said she might have to call a handful of patients who were supposed to come in that afternoon and ask them to reschedule their appointment. Many of the patients who seek care at her clinic, the Providence Community Health Center on Allens Avenue in Lower South Providence, are low-income or don’t have health insurance at all. While standing on a picket line Thursday morning, Peixoto said many patients often have to take time off work, schedule child care, and plan for some form of transportation just to get to their doctor’s appointments. (Gagosz, 10/12)

Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health plans to expand the use of an artificial intelligence "copilot" across all 40 of its hospitals. Atrium was the first health system to use the new AI assistant from Microsoft subsidiary Nuance and now intends to roll it out organizationwide. The technology, called the Dragon Ambient eXperience Copilot, generates clinical summaries from in-patient exams or telehealth visits in a matter of seconds before providers review and finalize the drafts in the EHR. (Bruce, 10/12)