Medicare proposal would cover caregivers; New definition of human embryo; Hospital mandates nurse to patient ratios - Morning Medical Update

Medicare proposal would cover caregivers

A new proposal from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would authorize Medicare payments to health care professionals to train informal caregivers who act as the primary care giver for loved ones. The proposal would cover both individual and group training. According to this AARP study, nearly 42 million Americans provided unpaid care to people 50 and older in 2020.

New definition of human embryo

Now that scientists can create synthetic embryos in the lab, some argue that the definition of a human embryo is changing. Nicolas Rivron, a developmental biologist at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna has written a perspective where he and his co-authors propose embryos be defined as “a group of human cells supported by elements fulfilling extra-embryonic and uterine functions that, combined, have the potential to form a fetus.”

Hospital mandates nurse to patient ratios

Oregon has become the fourth state to require nurse to patient ratios. The law requires a 1:1 ratio for trauma patients in emergency departments, 1:2 ratio for intensive care units, and a 1:4 ratio for surgical units. The three other states with mandates are California, Massachusetts, and New York.