How hospital capacity varies dramatically across the country

The Latest

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  'What about us?': Frontline primary care practices fear for survival amid coronavirus

  Independent practices have resisted selling to hospitals amid years of provider consolidation, reimbursement cuts and more, leaving them with razor-thin margins. Now, they worry COVID-19 could send them off the financial cliff.

  Health IT

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  DOJ sues Anthem for millions in overpayments related to MA plan members

  The payer said it plans to vigorously defend its practices as the lawsuit alleges it put profits ahead of compliance.

  Payer

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  As COVID-19 drives demand for some healthcare workers, others furloughed

  Traveling nurses and some specialties are needed but others, like gastroenterology and cardiology face dwindling patients.  

  Hospital Administration

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  Hospitals already short N95 respirators, ventilators, surgical masks, survey shows

  "It's clear that supply shortages have only grown worse as COVID-19 cases spread, and there are now multiple domestic and international organizations competing with healthcare providers for limited supplies," the GPO Premier warned.

  Hospital Administration

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  UnitedHealth says self-swabbing study spurred FDA coronavirus policy change

  The agency now allows onsite, self-collection of samples, after a nearly 500-patient study found self-administered tests about as accurate as those carried out by clinicians.

  Health IT

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  FDA still trying to fine-tune Pre-Cert as pilot enters 2020

  The Pre-Cert​ pilot, which includes Apple, J&J and Fitbit, is moving forward with the agency "working through the nine companies, trying to figure out how they actually do business," FDA's Bakul Patel said.

  Health IT

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  Coronavirus could hike premiums by double digits next year

  Payers, smack dab in the middle of rate-setting for 2021, could increase premiums from 4% to more than 40% if they aim to recoup all COVID-19 costs and protect solvency, California actuaries say.

  Payer

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  Even with billions from Congress, hospitals set to lose over $1K per COVID-19 case

  Those hits, coupled with the loss of lucrative elective procedures — which most hospitals have halted amid the outbreak — could be catastrophic for facilities, especially those in rural areas and with little cash on hand.

  Finance

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  As Congress gains ground on stimulus, healthcare workers ask people to stay home

  President Donald Trump, however, said he wanted the nation to be "opened up" by Easter, despite strong advice from public health experts that the U.S. continue social distancing efforts.

  Health IT

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  How health systems are responding as COVID-19 squeezes the medical supply chain

  Procurement of supplies will become more difficult if cases surge and federal stockpiles don't trickle down to the state level quickly enough.

  Hospital Administration

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  Community health centers get $100M for COVID-19 response

  Advocacy groups for community health centers welcomed the desperately needed funding, but said it's not nearly enough.

  Finance

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  Kaiser Permanente shelves $900M headquarters build

  The integrated healthcare giant planned to build a 29-floor, 1.6 million-square-foot tower in what would have been Oakland's largest commercial project. The decision to stop the project was not related to COVID-19, officials said.

  Finance

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  Nearly 2 dozen states now have Medicaid waivers for coronavirus response

  The waivers allow suspension of federal regulations surrounding prior authorization, sites of care and physician enrollment, among others.

  UPDATED: March 26, 2020 at 10:11 a.m.

  Payer

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  Amid mounting shortage, 5 facts about the nation's stockpile of emergency medical supplies

  As healthcare workers across the country scramble for personal protective equipment and other supplies, states are sending in their requests to the Strategic National Stockpile.

  Hospital Administration

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  COVID-19 threatens to overwhelm hospitals. They're weighing how best to ration care.

  "You're going to see variation in what is decided floor to floor, doctor to doctor, hospital to hospital," Arthur Caplan, head of the division of medical ethics at NYU School of Medicine, told Healthcare Dive.

  Hospital Administration

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  On 10th anniversary, embattled Affordable Care Act faces yet another stress test

  The law now faces a significant test as the nation likely heads into a recession amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, straining the health system in an unprecedented way.

  Payer

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  FDA eases rules on ventilator manufacturers as Medtronic, Tesla talk

  While the administration encourages other sectors to pivot to help fight the crisis, providers and some lawmakers want to use the Defense Production Act to compel them. But President Donald Trump has resisted that.

  Hospital Administration

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  Pandemic prompts CMS to drop some reporting requirements for value-based initiatives

  Citing the COVID-19 outbreak, the agency provided either deadline extensions for reporting data connected to the projects or waived them entirely for the fourth quarter of 2019.

  Health Law

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  Ratings agencies issue foreboding reports on hospital finances as AHA seeks $100B to respond to COVID-19

  "While the healthcare sector has responded extremely well to past crises, the scale of the coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented," Fitch Ratings warned.

  Finance

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  Hospital leaders plead for financial help, warn of closures, missing payroll

  Hospital leaders from around the country described their dire financial straits amid a pandemic and expected surge in patients.

  Hospital Administration

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  Direct-to-consumer companies wade into coronavirus testing to fill gap

  Everlywell said Monday it planned to donate its store of COVID-19 tests to hospitals, following guidance from FDA warning consumers of fraudulent at-home tests.

  UPDATED: March 23, 2020 at 10:28 a.m.

  Health IT

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  Hard-hit Washington state gets CMS green light for Medicaid coronavirus waiver

  The Trump administration did not approve a request to expand Medicaid to a greater number of uninsured residents in the state.

  Payer

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  Telehealth vendors scramble to hire doctors as patient volume soars amid COVID-19

  "We've gotten a lot of applications, more in the past two days since we put out this temporary position than we could have imagined," 98point6 CEO Robbie Cape told Healthcare Dive. "That being said, we need 10 times more."

  Health IT

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  CMS urges hospitals to put off elective procedures

  AHA applauded the move, which leaves the final decisions to individual facilities, along with the passage of a coronavirus relief package that includes a raise to the Medicaid federal matching rate.

  Hospital Administration

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  Medtronic pledges '24/7' ventilator production to meet coronavirus demand

  The company is aiming to more than double its manufacturing capacity as GE, Getinge, Philips and others outside of healthcare commit to boosting worldwide supply of the potentially lifesaving machines.

  Health IT

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