Medical school is about to get a lot cheaper—for lots of students at Johns Hopkins University, at least.

The former New York mayor, entrepreneur, and 1964 John Hopkins alum Michael Bloomberg donated $1 billion to the university, according to Bloomberg Philanthropies and the university in a Monday announcement. Starting this fall, tuition will be free for students coming from households that earn less than $300,000 annually, and the gift will also cover living expenses and other fees for students from families with less than $175,000 in annual income.

Financial access to medical school is a challenge for many students: The median debt for the class of 2023 is $200,000, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. This cost can discourage students from attending medical school at a time when the US needs more physicians; the association predicted that there will be a physician shortage of up to 86,000 doctors nationwide by 2036.

Keep reading here.—CM

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Private equity (PE) investors have long poured money into the healthcare industry, commonly investing in physician practices and hospitals. But in the past couple of years, a new sector is gaining momentum among investors: pharma services.

The sector comprises companies that provide any services to the biopharmaceutical industry, from preclinical development and clinical trials to manufacturing, distribution, and commercialization, according to Rebecca Springer, lead healthcare analyst at global market data company PitchBook, which released a report in June outlining PE interest in pharma services.

“Although PE investment in pharma services reaches back to the 1990s, the past decade has seen industry trends converge to make the space increasingly attractive, and over the past two years, pharma services has become the hottest area of PE healthcare investing,” the report stated.

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An initiative to provide hospitals and other medical organizations across North Dakota with affordable cybersecurity and insurance might be the first of its kind in the US healthcare sector.

Cyber coverage isn’t cheap. Casey Holland, a senior insurance and risk advisor for Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) specializing in healthcare, told IT Brew via email that depending on preparedness, scale of coverage, and deductibles, premiums can range from $10,000–$30,000 annually. Larger hospital networks can run up premiums in the six figures each year, Holland added.

That’s why the North Dakota Hospital Association (NDHA) is trying to tackle the problem from both sides. Its recently created Cyber Cover program partners members with MMA’s Vaaler Insurance and security firm Critical Insight with the intent of scoring discounts and balancing spending between prevention and liability coverage.

Aaron Brennan, director of strategic partnerships and trust administrator for NDHA, sat down with IT Brew to discuss the program.

Keep reading here.—TM