House moves to block AI prior authorizations | Physician quick quitting | Florida men charged in Medicare data theft conspiracy

A pilot program to use artificial intelligence to approve or deny traditional Medicare claims is currently active in six states. If successful, an amendment from the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee would block its expansion.

Last month saw the release of research showing a small but nontrivial number of physicians quit the job soon after completing residency training. Now comes a separate study suggesting the reasons for the phenomenon are often deep, diffuse and knotty—and thus difficult to address in a strictly programmatic way. 

The grand jury indicted two individuals for their alleged roles in a scheme to steal data on Medicare patients and re-sell that information for a premium to nefarious actors for the purpose of siphoning funds from the program. One of the individuals is accused of taking photos of patient records using his phone to obtain names, dates of birth and other personal information.

Going by four markers of health risk, four neighboring U.S. states are the best places to raise children with high chances of living long, healthy lives. 

A lawsuit claims that nurse staffing levels at Saint Joseph Medical Center in Illinois were too low to meet minimum safety thresholds, resulting in medical errors. Plaintiffs in the case are seeking punitive damages. 

The doctor whose ads promise to deliver the “Most Affordable Plastic Surgery Center in Chicago. Period.” was hit with a $56 million civil judgment in 2025 but is still practicing medicine in multiple states. 

The data breach at Singing River Health System occurred in December 2025 and resulted in sensitive medical information being stolen by cybercriminals. If a post on the dark web is to be believed, an infamous group called Anubis is responsible for the intrusion.

Details are slim, but Ōura Health confirmed it submitted a draft registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company received $900 million in new funding from investors in October. 

Last week hospitals owned by three big health systems filed suit against CVS Health. The trio filed separately, but all accuse the corporation of robbing them of funds they’re owed through the federal 340B drug pricing program. 

These programs may provide benefits in some cases. In others, however, there is a concern that they could actually lead to higher costs over time.

The Promoting Fairness for Medicare Providers Act seeks to smooth out reimbursement differences between office- and hospital-based settings.