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Nurses strike talk heats up as Tufts nurses plan picket and rally (Morning read)

Among today's current medical news, Amerisource Bergen is getting a new CEO; Roche buys diagnostics company PVT for $91 million; and TriCare, the health plan for military veterans, is targeted for premium increases.

Nurses picket. Tufts Medical Center Nurses plan an informational picket and rally for Wednesday afternoon from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.; they claim staffing conditions make conditions unsafe for patients. It’s an increasingly common occurrence as nurses across the country take similiar actions across the country. A common theme in the strikes and informational pickets is staffing. Nurses claim that the low staffing levels and long hours affect patient care. Becker’s Hospital Review lists 10 recent nurses’ strikes, lawsuits and union actions. Among them is a March 2 walk out by 1,000 nurses at Kaiser Hospital in Los Angeles – the first walk-out at the hospital in 13 years. In a video, the nurses say the hospital has refused to bargain in good faith and the low staffing levels are affecting patient care. Kaiser Permanente officials say they have bargained in good faith.

Military health care. TriCare, the health care plan for military veterans, is now being targeted for premium increases as the program’s costs balloon to a projected $65 billion to insure $9.6 million people.

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No-tobacco hospital hiring policy. At least three Michigan hospitals have implemented a no-tobacco policy for hiring, citing the need to live up to their health care missions, reports the Detroit News.

Executive moves. Amerisource Bergen CEO R. David Yost is retiring in July after 37 years at the pharmaceuticals distributor, 14 of those years as an  executive with the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based company.

Dealflow. Roche buys diagnostics company PVT for $91 million up front, and up to $28 million in milestones. Cytovance Biologics lands a $22.5 million investment from private equity group Great Point Partners.