IHA Daily Briefing: October 14

This Week: Webinar on New Visa Legislation Impacting Healthcare
WorldWide HealthStaff Solutions, part of IHA Strategic Partner Medical Solutions, is offering a free webinar this Thursday, Oct. 16, on the evolving visa landscape for registered nurses, key provisions of the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act and other pending legislation, and how upcoming policy changes could influence international nurse recruitment.

The 10:30-11 a.m. CT session, "Unlocking Opportunity: How New Visa Legislation Strengthens the Nursing Workforce," will spotlight how legislation including updates to Green Card and H-1B programs could reshape the future of workforce planning.

WorldWide HealthStaff Solutions CEO Ron Hoppe will lead the webinar with Chris Musillo, Managing Partner at Musillo Unkenholt LLC, an immigration-focused law firm. WorldWide HealthStaff Solutions has a network of over 40,000 experienced international clinicians who have passed the NCLEX exam required to work in the U.S. Through its direct hire model, the company brings in skilled professionals as full-time, permanent staff to fill needed roles, reduce reliance on contingent labor and lower workforce costs.

Register today for Thursday's webinar to prepare your organization for the future of healthcare staffing.

Provider Notice: Prior Authorization of Hemophilia Drugs
A Provider Notice has been issued to alert providers of the Illinois Dept. of Healthcare and Family Services' (HFS) compliance with Public Act 103-0659. Beginning Jan. 1, health insurance companies and their contracted utilization review organizations cannot require prior authorization for drug therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat hereditary bleeding disorders more often than every six months, or for the length of time the prescription remains valid, whichever period is shorter. The policy applies to both the fee-for-service program and managed care organizations.

RFP: Evidence-Based Parenting Program
The Illinois Dept. of Behavioral Health & Wellness recently shared a funding opportunity for organizations interested in expanding parent support programming. The Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued by the Illinois Behavioral Health Workforce Center at the University of Illinois Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work. Support will be provided to diverse organizations across the state for staff training and implementation of the Chicago Parent Program. To learn more about the evidence-based Chicago Parent Program, click here. Applications are due no later than noon CT on Dec. 2. An optional information session will be held on Zoom on Oct. 23 from 11 a.m.- noon CT using this link.

ADVOCACY ALERT: Help Stop Big Pharma from Undermining 340B
Your engagement-and that of your workforce-is critical to passing IHA's Patient Access to Pharmacy Protection Act (HB 2371 SA 2), essential legislation to safeguard the 340B program and protect patients' access to affordable care. However, Big Pharma is waging an all-out campaign, spending millions to defeat this bill and protect their bottom line at the expense of hospitals and the vulnerable patients you serve.

Lawmakers need to hear from the people who care for Illinois patients every day. Your voice must rise above Big Pharma's misinformation.

ACTION REQUESTED: Please share IHA's Advocacy Alert with your workforce and urge them to immediately contact their House Representative and State Senator through IHA's voter voice system and ask them to support and call for a vote on HB 2371 SA 2. Click here to access IHA's digital messaging platform to send a pre-populated message directly to your House Representative and State Senator.

WHO Warns of Significant Uptick in Drug-Resistant Infections
One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections causing common infections in people worldwide in 2023 were resistant to antibiotic treatments, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report released yesterday. Between 2018 and 2023, antibiotic resistance rose in over 40% of the pathogen-antibiotic combinations monitored, with an average annual increase of 5-15%. The new Global antibiotic resistance surveillance report 2025 presents, for the first time, resistance prevalence estimates across 22 antibiotics used to treat infections of the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts, the bloodstream and those used to treat gonorrhea, and covers eight common bacterial pathogens.

The report notes that drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria are becoming more dangerous worldwide, and E. coli and K. pneumoniae are the leading drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria found in bloodstream infections. These are among the most severe bacterial infections that often result in sepsis, organ failure and death. Yet more than 40% of E. coli and over 55% of K. pneumoniae globally are now resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, the first-choice treatment for these infections.