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Massachusetts officials said bankrupt hospital operator Steward Healthcare has created an overly complicated plan to sell its eight facilities in the state at a time when the system is rapidly running out of money. Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office complained in a new filing in the bankruptcy proceeding that Steward has separate sales processes for its hospitals that preclude a bidder from offering to buy all in one transaction, and had even excluded some potential buyers from participating. (Pressman and Weisman, 5/8)

Highmark Health has laid off 47 employees in its latest round of job cuts. The Pittsburgh-headquartered organization owns Highmark Inc., which provides health insurance plans to 6.9 million policyholders in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and New York. It also operates Allegheny Health Network, which comprises 14 hospitals. A Highmark spokesperson declined to answer questions about the types of roles or specific locations affected. (Berryman, 5/8)

Mergers and acquisitions activity is heating up in the skilled nursing industry as higher labor costs and other challenges are sending some small to mid-sized operators to the exits. Staffing costs, the federal staffing mandate, uncertainty over interest rates and low Medicaid reimbursements are creating a buyer’s market for large nursing home operators and real estate investment trusts that own nursing homes or lease properties to skilled nursing facility operators. (Eastabrook, 5/8)

A measure that would reduce the number of people who can reside in a nursing home room, add consumer protections at assisted living centers and beef up oversight of nursing home management companies, among other reforms, cleared the Senate with unanimous support Wednesday. (Carlesso, 5/8)

Even if you have health insurance, you might expect to be charged a copayment for some routine care, like office-based exams and consultations. But you probably don’t expect to receive a bill a few weeks later charging you an extra $100 or more. (Vollers, 5/8)

Executive search firms say their healthcare clients are generally offering leaders higher pay as they take on more responsibilities at increasingly complex organizations. But those running hospitals and health systems also continue to struggle with burnout. A Modern Healthcare survey of 30 executive search firms found that growth in C-suite compensation is due in part to consolidation and health systems’ heightened competition for talent, especially in financial and operational roles. (Devereaux, 5/8) 

As the country struggles with nursing shortages, some in the field are pushing for a federal solution: a new STEM designation. Classifying nursing as a STEM field would unlock millions in federal funding for recruitment programs and expand opportunities for international students. (Goldman, 5/9)

Erin Collins is an Oregon-based end-of-life doula—a person who, as part of a growing field, essentially guides another through their journey of dying. Recently, she worked with a 91-year-old man who was suffering from Parkinson’s and dementia who was anxious about how long it might take for him to die. Collins told him it would be about 10 days. “He died in 10 days after taking his nap,” she says. “He just needed somebody that he … trusted who he could ask that question without any judgment or alarm. And he finally got the answer to the question that was clearly giving him the most distress.” (Seegert, 5/7)