The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee yesterday held a hearing on using COVID-19 response lessons to address the mental health and substance use disorder crises. Testifying at the hearing were representatives from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Salud Family Health Centers in Colorado, the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and
Month: April 2021
Dive Brief: Large employers are increasingly supportive of government intervention when it comes to tackling the rising cost of healthcare for their workers, according to a survey released Thursday from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Purchaser Business Group on Health. Business leaders showed wide support for lawmakers pursuing policies that would improve price transparency (90%)
Dive Brief: One-third of the nation’s hospitals received A grades for the quality of care they provide, according to the Leapfrog Group’s annual survey, which graded more than 2,700 acute care facilities nationwide. Another 24% received B grades, suggesting that the nation’s hospitals are generally performing well in terms of the quality and safety of
Most studies of the toll COVID-19 has taken on the mental health of Americans reach the same conclusion: The pandemic has made what were already serious problems much worse. Depression, anxiety, rates of substance use disorders and feelings of isolation or abandonment have multiplied three- or four-fold across society. Health care workers, who bravely bear
WakeMed Health & Hospitals in 2019 faced a behavioral health crisis in the system’s seven emergency departments, with patients waiting days to get access to acute inpatient services. Learn how the system created a high-performance, multidisciplinary network of inpatient, outpatient and community-benefit organizations to form a circle of support around each care transition.
Dive Brief: Virtual care powerhouse Teladoc reported a wider-than-expected net loss in the first quarter, but beat Wall Street estimates on revenue with a topline of $454 million, up 151% year over year, driven by growth in specialty offerings and multi-product contracts. The Purchase, New York-based vendor saw particularly strong growth in U.S. subscriptions paid
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A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assessment affirms the ability of the two authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines to prevent hospitalization in fully vaccinated adults ages 65 and older. According to the CDC, fully vaccinated adults in this age group were 94% less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than those who were not vaccinated. Partially
Dive Brief: Molina added 1.2 million members to its insurance plans during the first quarter of 2020, a significant jump from the first quarter of last year thanks in part to acquisitions executed in the latter half of the year, including its takeover of a Kentucky Medicaid plan, Passport Health, that netted the firm more
Dive Brief: Community Health Systems posted a $64 million loss in the first quarter, compared to an $18 million profit during the same quarter last year. But the chain beat Wall Street expectations on revenue of $3.01 billion, exceeding consensus estimates by 2%. Volumes are still notably weak ’ same store surgery volumes were essentially flat
Just over a year ago, the AHA joined hospital and health system leaders at the White House to announce the Dynamic Ventilator Reserve, a public-private online initiative to track and help distribute available ventilators and associated supplies to areas of the country with high COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations. Within weeks of the announcement, the
Top executives at nearly 90% of large employers surveyed believe the cost of providing health benefits to employees will become unsustainable in the next five-to-10 years, and 85% expect the government will be required to intervene to provide coverage and contain costs, according to a new survey released today from Purchaser Business Group on Health
A shorter version of this column has been published by Axios. In an apparent break with the past, a surprising share of corporate leaders are now willing to support government efforts to tame health spending. Historically Republican-leaning and weary of government, only a tiny share oppose regulation. The test of how serious they are will be
With the events of past year, how we view health care in the United States is changing. The COVID pandemic has made even more clear the problems with our current system, including high costs, incomplete coverage, limited access to care, under-investment in public health, and serious racial and ethnic inequities. All of this, occurring against
The Food and Drug Administration today updated its webpage on the performance of SARS-CoV-2 serology tests authorized for emergency use to help health care providers interpret these antibody test results for their patients. The update also clarifies the use of serology tests when assessing a patient’s adaptive immune response.
In a major win for hospitals, CMS is seeking to abandon a plan to require them to disclose certain negotiated rates it reaches with Medicare Advantage organizations in reports submitted to the federal government, per a proposal released Tuesday. The agency is also proposing a hospital payment bump totaling $2.5 billion for fiscal year 2022 as
Encouraged by the development of rapid at-home coronavirus tests, medtech companies are now betting on the potential to sell over-the-counter and direct-to-consumer diagnostics for diseases beyond COVID-19. The pandemic has enabled consumers to get tested for the virus in the privacy of their homes, a convenience that companies like Abbott Laboratories and Quest Diagnostics are
Providence, Henry Ford Health System and Northwell Health joined with other health care providers to form Truveta, a platform that de-identifies data and uses artificial intelligence to mine datasets, providing new insights into the unique needs of their patient populations. AHA Board Chair Rod Hochman, president and CEO of Providence, and Truveta CEO Terry Myerson
The AHA and Texas Hospital Association today filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and several Texas hospitals and health systems challenging a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Departmental Appeals Board decision adopting a “net effect” standard for “bona fide provider-related donations” to supplemental payments in Medicaid. The Centers
Dive Brief: Humana has inked an agreement to acquire the remaining 60% interest in Kindred at Home, the biggest home health provider in the U.S., from two private equity partners in a deal valuing Kindred at $8.1 billion, the payer announced Tuesday. The acquisition ’ the largest in Humana’s history ’ will beef up the
Dive Brief: More than 700 nurses at Tenet’s St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, remain on strike after the two sides sat down to their first bargaining session since the work stoppage began March 8. The Monday meeting was futile, and another session has not yet been scheduled. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents the
The AHA, along with Baxter International Foundation, is accepting applications through July 31, 2021 for the 2022 Foster G. McGaw Prize. The prize honors health care organizations that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to community service. Applicants should showcase strong leadership within their community, a commitment to service and care, partnerships that help meet community needs,
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today issued a proposed rule for the long-term care hospital prospective payment system for fiscal year 2022. Under the rule, overall aggregate payments for LTCHs would increase by 1.4% ($52 million) relative to FY 2021 payments. This includes payment increases for all LTCH cases, both those paid under
Dive Brief: U.S. hospitals continue to struggle under the ongoing weight of the pandemic and its financial pressure, reporting a mixed performance in March, according to a new report from Kaufman Hall. Volumes continued to decline, while revenues and expenses generally rose compared to the same time last year. Margins increased on both a year-to-date
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services late today issued a proposed rule that would increase Medicare inpatient prospective payment system rates by a net 2.8% in fiscal year 2022, compared to FY 2021, for hospitals that are meaningful users of electronic health records and submit quality measure data. In addition, the rule would repeal the
Medicare currently offers health insurance coverage to more than 60 million Americans ages 65 and older and younger adults with long-term disabilities. During the presidential campaign, President Biden proposed to lower Medicare’s eligibility age from 65 to 60, along with other policies to address health insurance coverage and affordability. Then-candidate Biden stated that the proposal
Dive Brief: Centene reported significant revenue and profit growth for the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year as members used less medical care amid the coronavirus pandemic and flu costs were lower than normal. COVID-19 costs and inpatient admissions peaked in January and have continued to decline throughout the
Dive Insight: Universal Health Services followed other for-profit hospital chains with a positive first quarter earnings report Monday, posting a $209 million profit, up from $144 million during the same quarter last year. UHS beat Wall Street expectations on revenue with $3 billion for the first quarter, and announced plans to return $188 million in
Two new KFF analyses find that lowering the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 60 could significantly reduce health spending for employers, who could potentially pass savings to employees in the form of lower premiums or higher wages. Additionally, per person health spending for older adults who move from employer coverage on to Medicare
President Biden proposed lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 60 during the presidential campaign, with the goal of broadening coverage and making health coverage affordable for older adults. This analysis illustrates the potential for employer savings and finds that lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 60 could reduce costs for employer health plans
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