This global healthcare lesson could change America | part one 
Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Dr. Mark Stoltenberg; 7/22/26 
Some of the most innovative solutions to America's healthcare challenges aren't being developed in the world's wealthiest hospitals—they're emerging from communities with the fewest resources. What can American healthcare learn from global healthcare?  In our latest episode, Dr. Mark Stoltenberg, Harvard Medical School professor and Massachusetts General Hospital physician, joins Chris Comeaux to explore global healthcare, palliative care, hospice leadership, healthcare innovation, and the future of serious illness care in America. ... Drawing from his work leading global palliative care programs throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and other underserved regions, he shares how resource-limited healthcare systems are pioneering solutions that can improve American healthcare, strengthen the healthcare workforce, and restore compassionate, person-centered care.

Will Hyder Hospice reopen in Dover? Strafford County, MGB in talks 
Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, NH; by Karen Dandurant; 7/22/26 
Hyder Family Hospice House remains closed as talks to reopen it continue between Strafford County commissioners and Mass General Brigham. A spokesperson for Mass General Brigham provided a statement in response to questions from Foster's Daily Democrat. “Mass General Brigham agrees this is a vital community resource, and we have been talking with county officials to learn more," the statement reads. "No decisions have been made at this time.” Strafford County Commission Chair George Maglaras said the commissioners remain confident an agreement will be reached. 

In Memoriam: June L. Dahl, PhD
Journal of Palliative Medicine; by David E. Weissman, MD; 7/17/26
The roots to improve care for the seriously ill in the United States include the passage of the Medicare Hospice Benefit in 1982, the pioneering work of Balfour Mount, Derek Doyle, Josefina Magno, and the work of the Academy of Hospice Physicians. A lessor-known but significant contributor to early palliative care development was the Cancer Pain Initiative movement, founded and led by June Dahl, PhD, who passed away in June 2026 at age 95.

Hospice enrollments from the emergency department feature short admissions and high-acuity hospice care 
Health Affairs; by Helen P. Knight, Kourosh Ravvaz, Alexander Fiksdal, Lin Shen, Isaac S. Chua, Claire K. Ankuda, Haiden A. Huskamp, Hojjat Salmasian, Joan M. Teno, and David W. Bates; 6/1/26 
... In this sample, 4.3 percent of initial enrollments in hospice originated from the ED. ED-to-hospice admissions featured short lengths-of-stay (21.7 percent were two days or less) and high rates of general inpatient level of care at the time of enrollment (23.6 percent). The 10 percent of hospice agencies with the highest proportion of ED-to-hospice enrollments were less often for-profit than agencies ranked below the fiftieth percentile in respect to proportion of ED-to-hospice enrollments. Further research is needed to increase understanding of how much patients benefit from ED-to-hospice transfers when their hospice stays before death are very short, and what drivers lead to these ED-to-hospice transfers.

HHS pausing $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota over fraud 
LI; by Mary Chastain; 7/21/26 
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have paused more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota due to fraud concerns. “That includes more than $887 million for California and over $200 million for Minnesota,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at a press conference. “If those states want that money, they need to provide documentation that these payments are legitimate.”

Nevada hospice industry under scrutiny as families navigate quality care gaps 
KTNV-13 ABC, Las Vegas, NV; by Abel Garcia; 7/21/26 
... As I've continued to look into hospice care and concerns in Southern Nevada, one issue kept coming up: How do you navigate those decisions? To get a better idea, I spoke to a local family about their experience with hospice care: Mikiya Davis found herself navigating hospice care for the first time when her mother, Deborah Johnson, suffered a stroke, and Davis moved her from California to Las Vegas to care for her, herself. Davis says she eventually realized how much the quality of care, staffing, and support can vary depending on the provider. "I didn't know my rights. It was my first time on hospice, and If you don't know, you just don't know," she said. Without naming the hospices involved, Davis tells me she saw major differences between the provider she started with and the one she transferred to after just a few weeks. ...

Healthcare trends & transactions Q2 2026 
Mondaq; by Bass, Berry & Sims; 7/22/26 
Healthcare M&A activity maintained steady momentum through Q2 2026, driven by physician practice consolidation, AI-enabled technology acquisitions, and strategic outpatient expansion. Private equity investment persisted despite intensifying regulatory scrutiny of MSO arrangements, while digital health buyers paid significant premiums for platforms demonstrating production-grade AI capabilities and proprietary data assets.

Ramped up federal fraud prevention efforts potentially complicate service provision to assisted living residents 
McKnights Senior Living; by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 7/21/26 
Expanding the use of “exclusion authority” will enable the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general to remove — and potentially ban — “bad actors” from federal healthcare programs, federal officials said Tuesday. The move, on top of recent deferrals of more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid payments to two states, threatens to make providing services to hundreds of thousands of assisted living residents more difficult for the providers that do so.

What does Medicare actually cover in a best-rated memory care facility?
U.S. News & World Report; by Vanessa Cacers; 7/21/26 |
Memory care facilities offer a safe, supportive environment for those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, but care can be costly. Learn what memory care services Medicare will pay for. |
Key Takeaways

• No housing coverage: ...
• Skilled nursing limitations: ... 
• Outpatient and medical support: ...
• Medication costs: ...
• Alternative funding required: ...

Medical aid in dying law would force Long Island Catholic nuns, ministries to 'abandon' their beliefs, Federal suit claims
Newsday; by Robert Brodsky; 7/21/26 
A new [New York] state law that would allow life-ending medication to be made available to some terminally ill residents will force Catholic nuns and ministries, including several from Long Island, to "abandon their religious beliefs" or face fines, according to a federal lawsuit seeking to force changes to the law before it goes into effect next month. On Friday, four orders of Catholic nuns, including the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, which operates St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, an assisted living facility in Huntington, were joined by the Rockville Centre Diocese and the Catholic Health System of Long Island in filing the suit in New York's Northern District. 

Man donates van to hospice which cared for wife 
BBC News, Shropshire, England; by Andy Martindale and Chloe Hughes; 7/22/26 |
A man whose wife was given end-of-life care by a hospice has donated a van to them as he said they "were there for us when we needed them most". Severn Hospice cares for patients from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid-Wales, and the van will be used by its retail operation and maintenance teams which support its 31 charity shops. ... The van, grey with flashes of yellow and blue from the hospice's logo, also bears Barbara's name. "I know she'd [Barbara] love the idea - we used to love going to the charity shop in Oswestry, and I'm sure she'd be pleased to see her name travelling around Shropshire, hopefully doing a bit of good for the hospice."

Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power. ~ Lao Tzu