Some patients in Puerto Rico are having to evacuate to the continental United States for treatment as the island deals with significant damage caused by Hurricane Maria.

Multiple risk pools and extra money aimed at states represented by Republican swing votes are among the changes made in a new version of the Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to be released less than five days before a deadline to pass it with a simple majority in the U.S. Senate.

Cancer patients are more concerned with communication and relationships with physicians over technical aspects of their care, according to a study published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

The last time Senate Republicans tried to move forward on repealing the Affordable Care Act, it was Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who sunk the effort with a dramatic thumbs down. He may have done so again with the latest repeal plan, the Graham-Cassidy bill, announcing Sept. 22 he “cannot in good conscience vote” for the proposal.

U.S. health insurers maintained a stable outlook in the latest report from Moody’s Investor Service, with the rating agency expecting insurance companies “will continue generating solid results owing to disciplined medical management and moderate medical cost trends.”

The first set of $43 billion in cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments will kick in on Oct. 1 and safety-net hospitals have little hope federal action will delay the reductions yet again.

Since early May, HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, has taken at least 24 flights on private charter planes at the agency’s expense, racking up more than $300,000 in costs, according to POLITICO.

The University of California, Irvine recently received a $200 million donation to found a new health sciences college focused on “complementary and alternative medicines and evidence-based self-care.” That definition has some concerned it will aim to incorporate unproven therapies into mainstream medical practices.