Big Tech is betting $700 billion on AI. Healthcare will decide whether the bet pays off.
Fortune; by Bill Miller; 10/10/26
Bill Miller is Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, WellSky. Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon are expected to spend more than $700 billion on capital expenditures this year as they expand the infrastructure required to support AI. For spending at that scale to pay off, AI will need to deliver meaningful productivity gains across the economy. Few industries offer more room to prove it than healthcare. U.S. healthcare spending reached $5.3 trillion in 2024, or 18% of GDP. By some estimates, close to $1 trillion goes toward administration alone. Demand for care also continues to outpace the available clinical workforce. If AI can lower the cost of delivering care while freeing clinicians to serve more patients, the economic opportunity could be enormous.

What leaders should say when they don’t have all the answers
Darden Report; by Seb Murray; 10/8/26
“What brings a leader down is their reluctance to communicate,” says UVA Darden Professor June West. “Research shows that in the absence of communication, employees create it, and the grapevine becomes very active.” ... For Professor June West, who has spent almost 30 years teaching leadership communication at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, the lesson from the Warsh debate is a simple one: Uncertainty calls for more communication, not less.

Dartmouth Health unveils new home-based care initiative
Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 10/9/26
Dartmouth Health is launching a suite of home-based care services in partnership with Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. The program is branded as Dartmouth Health at Home. Supported by a $20 million philanthropic gift, Dartmouth Health at Home aims to transform rural healthcare by expanding access to care, improving patient outcomes, and facilitating the safe and effective transition of care from hospitals and ambulatory settings to patients’ homes, while supporting patients and their families throughout the process. The program will include home-based primary care and palliative care. “One of the things that is revolutionary about Dartmouth Health at Home is bringing a range of coordinated services to patients in their homes rather than patients coming to one of our facilities for services,” said Dr. Nathan Goldstein, chair of the Department of Medicine at Dartmouth Health and co-CEO of Dartmouth Health at Home.

West Palm Beach man accused of beating hospice patient, strangling second woman
Hoodline; by Livi Miller; 10/9/26
A West Palm Beach man is being held without bond after deputies say he forced his way into a home near North Federal Highway and attacked two women, including an at-home hospice patient suffering from terminal cancer. Mandy Bolobanic was arrested Thursday and now faces an array of felony charges including home invasion robbery, elder abuse, battery by strangulation and witness tampering.

Staggering: AI’s ALS breakthrough comes with a $5 million price tag
The Tech Edvocate; by Matthew Lynch; 10/11/26
A leading pharmaceutical company, using advanced AI algorithms, has just announced what many are calling a groundbreaking success in Phase 2 trials. This new drug doesn’t just slow the progression of ALS; it effectively halts it. That’s right – halts it. The implications are monumental, offering a glimmer of hope where previously there was only despair. However, this beacon of scientific triumph comes with a staggering proposed price tag: $5 million per patient... However, critics are quick to point out that even factoring in these elements, $5 million is an extraordinary sum that would place the drug out of reach for the vast majority of patients globally. It raises fundamental questions about the value of life, the ethics of profit in healthcare, and whether AI-driven innovation, while brilliant, is inadvertently creating a two-tiered healthcare system where only the ultra-wealthy can access truly life-saving treatments. Who decides what a human life is worth, especially when that life can be saved?

I retired in my early 50s to care for my husband with dementia. We've exhausted his 401(k) and had to sell our house.
Business Insider; by Noah Sheidlower; 10/12/26
My husband has early-onset Lewy body dementia [says Wendy Rowland, TN]. He is 59 and has been in a memory care facility for over two years now. We have already used his 401(k), and I sold the house we had for over 20 years. Once the money from that is gone, I'm not sure what will happen.

‘Before I Forget’: A touching and surprisingly funny memoir on caring for ageing abusive parents
Scroll.in / The Conversation; by Helen Vassallo; 10/11/26
In writing about trauma, French writer Anne Pauly is also acerbically funny and no one is spared from her arch humour. How do you mourn an abusive alcoholic parent? French writer Anne Pauly’s Before I Forget, translated by Dina Leifer, addresses this question in a deeply personal account of grief. We accompany Pauly’s protagonist and narrator, Anne, as she cares for her ailing father, looking after his house and his personal grooming. Having grown up witnessing her father’s recurrent violence towards her mother, Pauly addresses some very serious topics... Before I Forget is an uncomfortable read at times. Anne says that her parents hurt each other deeply, but the reality Pauly describes is that of a violent alcoholic and his abused wife. This generosity towards her father is perhaps Anne’s way of processing her grief, enabling her to continue caring for him as she strives to find the humanity inside a monster.

Skin in the game - DOJ’s false claims act focus on wound care and skin substitutes
JDSupra; 10/8/26
What providers should know about DOJ’s enforcement focus on wound care and skin substitutes
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have made wound care services and skin substitute product manufacturers some of their primary healthcare fraud enforcement targets. The recent string of False Claims Act (FCA) settlements makes clear that scrutiny of these providers shows no signs of slowing.
Publisher's note: Hospices working with wound care and skin substitute companies might consider how this contributes to SSVI scores.

‘Byzantine ownership arrangements’: Calls to scrutinize coding and profit incentives in nursing home Medicare payments
Skilled Nursing News; by Zahida Siddiqi; 10/9/26
Policy analysts at the nonpartisan agency that advises Congress on Medicare policy are planning to investigate potential coding distortions, payment inaccuracies and whether financial incentives influence patient selection by nursing home providers as part of an assessment of payment accuracy in fee-for-service Medicare’s skilled nursing facility and home health payment systems. At its October meeting Friday, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) discussed a research work plan, with commissioners calling attention to for-profit providers seeking to game the system, with a rising role of hidden private equity influence. [MedPAC presentation slides here.]
Publisher's note: Bold and italics above are ours; if MedPAC is looking at this in SNF and HHA, hospice is likely not too far behind...

Journalist Steven Petrow opens up about his sister’s choice to use medical aid in dying
CBS17 [Raleigh, NC]; by Greg Funderburg; 10/11/26
Award-winning journalist and author Steven Petrow is set to lead an important conversation about end-of-life options following a deeply personal experience within his own family. Petrow’s sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and after years of battling her illness, she made the poignant decision to choose medical aid in dying, what she considered to be a way to die on her own terms. Petrow, who has long championed civil discourse on sensitive topics, reflects on how his sister’s choice has profoundly influenced his views on autonomy and dignity in death. He has written extensively on this subject for prestigious publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Note: Source article linked in title does not require a subscription, but The New York Times and Washington Post articles do require a subscription.

Aging policy takes center stage at NASHP’s 2026 annual conference
NASHP press release; by Claire Kolmansberger, Kimberly Hodges, Wendy Fox-Grage; 10/9/26
Aging is a core pillar of state health policy. Adults age 65 and older are the fastest-growing age group in the U.S., and by 2034, older adults are projected to outnumber children for the first time. As demographics shift, states are simultaneously navigating direct care workforce shortages, rising demand for long-term services and supports (LTSS), and shifting Medicaid budgets. At NASHP’s 2026 annual conference, aging shaped discussions across a breadth of topics as states grappled with how to sustainably support a growing aging population, including those with complex care needs. Sessions explored strategies to strengthen aging care systems and services, including home- and community-based services, nursing home care, and palliative care. “Aging has come of age.” [says] Rani Snyder, President, The John A. Hartford Foundation.

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