WASHINGTON - As the deficit reduction supercommittee hunts for $1.5 trillion in additional savings, US hospital executives are so worried about having their payments cut that they plan to start lobbying Congress next week to shift the burden onto their elderly patients - specifically by raising the age of eligibility for Medicare.

As a student nurse, I write in support of Massachusetts House Bill 1506, an act that protects patients from preventable medical errors by prohibiting mandatory overtime. Mandatory overtime requires nurses to stay on after their 12-hour shifts to fill in planned gaps in the schedule. After 12 hours on the job, nurses are statistically more likely to make errors and jeopardize patient safety.

Boston - Reviving one of Beacon Hill’s oldest and most hard fought battles – whether to force hospitals to abide by nurse-to-patient staffing levels –nurses cautioned lawmakers Tuesday that they’ve left the care of their constituents at risk by failing to pass a staffing law, and the state’s top hospital official calling mandated staffing requirements a “terrible idea” that would represent a step backwards in the fast-changing health care field.

HYANNIS — Massachusetts hospitals need more nurses, not more nurses working overtime, health care advocates said Monday at a press conference near Cape Cod Hospital.