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U.S. health care workers are dealing with more than double the rate of workplace harassment compared to pre-pandemic times, according to new survey data. The findings, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vital Signs report Tuesday, show that in 2022, 13.4% of health workers said they'd been harassed at work, up from 6.4% in 2018. ... The survey also found health workers who reported being harassed also had increased odds of reporting anxiety, depression and burnout compared to those who weren't harassed. (Moniuszko, 10/24)

About 44% of health care workers wanted to look for a new job last year, while interest declined among workers outside of health care. Health care workers' trust in their management declined 7% from 2018 to 2022. (Goldman, 10/25)

BJC HealthCare, the region’s biggest health care provider, says it is working on a plan to ensure people who depend on “Obamacare” health insurance policies will still have access to its system. BJC said it plans to make an announcement on an agreement for a new Affordable Care Act coverage option early this week, ahead of the start of the open enrollment period. (Merrilees, 10/24)

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Washington Health System moved a step closer to completing their merger plan. The nonprofit health systems signed a definitive agreement last week, according to an Oct. 23 regulatory filing. Under the member-substitution agreement, UPMC would appoint one-third of the Washington Health board to the system board. The two-hospital system based in Washington, Pennsylvania, with 2,000 employees, would be renamed UPMC Washington. (Kacik, 10/24)

Air Methods, a private equity-owned medical helicopter company, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday with a plan to cut $1.7 billion in debt. Air Methods' business had suffered recently due to rising interest rates, higher labor costs and a recent U.S. ban on "surprise" medical bills, according to court filings in Houston, Texas, bankruptcy court. (Knauth, 10/24)

Government regulation of artificial intelligence in healthcare is in its early stages, according to developers and end users of the technology. Most stakeholders agree that AI holds promise in improving clinical care. But health system leaders and developers are looking for concrete guardrails, even if it’s unclear how the technology will be regulated. (Turner, 10/24)

Many people will soon be picking their health insurance plans for 2024: November is a common month for workplace open enrollment, and the public marketplace opens Nov. 1. But choosing a health plan can be tricky. In fact, a 2017 study found many people lose money due to suboptimal choices: Sixty-one percent chose the wrong plan, costing them an average $372 a year. (Iacurci, 10/24)

A poison specialist and former medical resident at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota is charged with fatally poisoning his wife, a 32-year-old pharmacist who died days after she went to a hospital in August with stomach distress. Authorities say Connor Bowman, 30, tried to stop the autopsy on his wife, Betty Bowman — arguing she should be cremated immediately and claiming she had a rare illness, which hospital tests did not confirm. The medical examiner’s office halted the order for cremation, citing suspicious circumstances, according to a criminal complaint, and an autopsy showed Betty Bowman died from toxic effects of colchicine, a medicine used to treat gout. (Ahmed, 10/24)