If you ask the Chinese Zodiac, 2026 is the year of the horse. But if you ask nurses, it’s their year.

Accrediting body the Joint Commission kicked it off with newly restructured requirements for hospitals, effective Jan. 1. The nonprofit, which has accredited or certified 23,000+ global health organizations, removed 714 hospital requirements. This latest cut leaves 774 standards, including 14 national performance goals.

Goal 12 asks hospitals to maintain an “adequate number” of staff—like registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses—to care for all patients, and requires management to conduct an analysis of staffing if there are any safety or care quality issues. Though this reorganization adds no new requirements, it still has some nurses optimistic that change is coming.

Rebekah Marsh, an RN and president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), told Healthcare Brew the change adds “emphasis” and “teeth” to nurse staffing rules.

“I do think it will result in some changes and some more specific accountability,” she said.

Here’s what the new standards could mean for nurses.—CC

A dangerous winter storm hit at least 35 states over the weekend, leaving people with icy roads and some without power.

Hospitals were not immune to this impact. Houston, Texas-based Harris Health closed outpatient clinics through Monday, while providers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, prepared beds onsite for staff to sleep during the storm. Kansas City, Missouri-based clinicians also voiced concern about the potential for an increase in patient injuries related to the storm.

We reached out to some hospitals around the country to see how the storm impacted their operations.

Here’s how some hospitals prepped for the storm.—CM

Breaking up is hard to do—especially when the split isn’t on your terms.

On Jan. 1, 2026, New Yorkers enrolled in Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield health plans received news that their insurer had broken up with Mount Sinai, one of the largest hospital systems in the US.

In an open letter, Anthem said it failed to reach a contract in negotiations with the provider network. As a result, members seeing any of Mount Sinai’s roughly 9,000 doctors no longer have insurance coverage for these providers. Coverage for the health system’s hospitals, outpatient centers, and other facilities is set to end on March 1, though experts say the two sides could still reach an agreement before then, or further down the road.

This isn’t the first time Mount Sinai has dropped coverage for patients enrolled in certain health plans. Tens of thousands of patients on UnitedHealthcare and Oxford health plans were forced out of network in 2024 due to a dispute between the insurer and Mount Sinai. Ongoing negotiations between United Healthcare and New York-Presbyterian have raised the possibility of coverage losses among patients with that New York City-based health system, as well.

Keep reading on HR Brew.—CV

As independent medical practices shrink, some doctors are turning to private equity to stay afloat—and even regain autonomy. This story explores why physicians say PE partnerships can preserve control over patient care, the risks critics warn about, and what the shift reveals about the pressures reshaping healthcare.

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