Cali’s Medicaid tax proposal | AI scribes boost income | Physicians suing over medical bills | ‘Runaway’ telehealth lawbreaking

The idea was floated as part of a proposed budget for the state released by Democrats in the Senate. If passed, only the top 2% of corporations in California would be impacted. The levy would generate $5 billion to $8 billion annually for Medicaid. 

In the three or so years since it burst into healthcare, ambient AI scribe technology has run away with the win in the market-uptake race. What has been the return on investment in all those software packages? 

Of all lawsuits filed against patients in 2024 in one U.S. state, physician practices and other non-hospital healthcare entities accounted for 80% of cases. That’s a complete inversion from just six years prior.  

The U.S. Department of Justice said it worries its lawsuit could ultimately bankrupt the telehealth group, leaving little money for alleged victims. The company is said to have refused to cancel member accounts, forcing patients to file credit card disputes to get refunds. This is in addition to other arguably more serious accusations levied by the DOJ.

AI technologies have changed daily life for provider organizations and industry partners alike. Arguably the biggest single difficulty to emerge from the complex transformation is the risk of cybersecurity breaches. 

The recall is officially an early alert, as the syringes are part of surgical convenience kits—the rest of which are safe to use. The defective syringes risk causing fatal injuries to patients and must be discarded. 

The maker of popular GLP-1 agonists Wegovy and Ozempic said technology from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, will allow it to sift through and make sense of massive datasets to identify potential new uses for its diabetes and obesity treatments.

MGMA says Trump’s immigration policy combined with Congress’s unwillingness to fund additional medical residency positions is a primary driver accelerating the growing U.S. healthcare staffing shortage.

Republicans are said to be considering cuts to cost-sharing programs through the Affordable Care Act as a means to save money and fund the U.S. Department of War, which is looking for $200 billion to cover not only the conflict in Iran but also domestic immigration enforcement.

Three-fifths of 14,000 physicians surveyed, 60%, enjoy a strong sense of belonging within their organization. Better yet, four-fifths, 80%, feel their teammates have their back.

Cardiologists in the United States now earn an average annual income of $575,000. That represents an increase of 10% compared to the previous year.

Two respected radiology organizations have issued a stark warning on the new recommendations, stating that they risk confusing patients and “may contribute to thousands of additional breast cancer deaths each year.”