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The Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Health-ISAC) recently warned that the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors are at a heightened risk of social engineering attacks, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from California, Florida, and Illinois.
- California: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed a package of bills aimed at strengthening reproductive rights and expanding access to care in the state. One measure from one bill expands the ability of certified nurse-midwives to provide care for pregnant and postpartum patients while another bill expands access to breast pumps and services for nursing mothers through Medi-Cal. Other measures include increasing access to medication abortion by making it available at community colleges and allowing military veterans to access abortion and contraception services through a state program. "Freedom means being able to make deeply personal decisions without elected officials inserting themselves in pursuit of a political agenda," Newsom said. "California is protecting that freedom and showing the nation, particularly under increasingly severe attacks by the Trump administration, what is possible when we put patients and people first — not politics." (James, Los Angeles Times, 9/27)
- Florida: Health-ISAC recently warned that the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors are at a heightened risk of social engineering attacks. Specifically, the organization flagged the group ShinyHunters, which is using voice-phishing attacks to trick healthcare workers into exposing their credentials. According to Errol Weiss, chief security officer at Health-ISAC, over a dozen member organizations have been impacted by social engineering attacks in recent months. Some organizations that have reported being hit by social engineering attacks include Clover Health, AdaptHealth, and Hims & Hers. Researchers from Palo Alto Networks' threat research and incident response arm Unit 42 have also identified an underground cybercrime network called The Com that has likely been involved in phishing attacks against healthcare organizations. Separately, researchers at ReliaQuest confirmed a similar pattern of The Com activity to what Health-ISAC outlined in its advisory. "Our domain analysis identified a sustained cluster of phishing and vishing infrastructure targeting the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector across the same period, with registrations continuing into late September 2026," a ReliaQuest spokesperson said. (Jones, Cybersecurity Dive, 9/25)
- Illinois: According to a new report from Kaufman Hall, hospital margins fell in July, in part due to decreased outpatient activity and increased bad debt and charity care. In July, hospitals' year-to-date operating margins were 1.4%, a decrease from 2.2% in both May and June. Meanwhile, bad debt and charity care increased by 14% in 2026 compared to 2025, suggesting that payer mix erosion continues to impact providers' bottom lines. According to Kaufman Hall, the margin decline in July was largely due to the seasonality of elective surgeries. Historically, patients schedule elective surgeries like joint replacements less frequently during the summer. At the same time, as more care moves to outpatient settings, hospitals may be more affected by swings in outpatient volumes — something that could complicate financial forecasting for hospitals that have typically relied on outpatient growth to stabilize their margins. (Adams, MedCity News, 9/15)
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