COVID-19: Page 3

CMS underestimated hospital labor spending in payment adjustments, Premier says

Inpatient payment rates for fiscal 2023 released earlier this week also wouldn't adequately cover rising costs, according to the group purchasing organization.

By Hailey Mensik • April 21, 2022

Corporate employment of physicians surged during pandemic

A study by Avalere found that hospitals or other corporate entities are buying up independent physician groups at a rapid clip, raising concerns about increasing pressures on doctors.

By Susan Kelly • April 20, 2022

End of Medicaid continuous coverage may leave millions of children uninsured, analysis finds

Children are at highest risk in Texas, Florida and Georgia when states resume checking Medicaid eligibility after the public health emergency expires, Georgetown University researchers found.

By Susan Kelly • April 19, 2022

How health system leaders are navigating ongoing staffing shortages: survey

More than 90% of health system leaders have increased compensation to recruit and retain staff, while 81% said they are still filling gaps with agency labor, per a new Advis report.

By Hailey Mensik • April 18, 2022

Physician pay is climbing after early-pandemic slump

Doctors' financial compensation increased in the past year, resuming a longer-term trend though gender, racial and ethnic pay disparities persist.

By Susan Kelly • April 18, 2022

Community health centers facing acute workforce loss

A majority of health centers reported they lost up to a fourth of their workforce in the past six months alone, according to a new survey from the National Association of Community Health Centers.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 13, 2022

Higher education can help solve America's nursing shortage

By adapting new tactics, building more flexible ways to credential new nurses and making academic progression more accessible, learning institutions can take critical steps to strengthen America's core of nurses, the authors argue.

By Jennifer Graebe and Lisa McIntyre-Hite • April 11, 2022

Which healthcare workers are most likely to quit their jobs?

Following massive job losses at the start of the pandemic, turnover rates have mostly improved for healthcare workers — except for physicians and those working in long-term care, according to new research in Health Affairs.

By Hailey Mensik • April 11, 2022

More than 4K Stanford nurses vote to strike in California

Nurses will begin an open-ended strike April 25 if they are unable to reach a deal with the system, according to a statement from the union. The two sides have met with a federal mediator three times.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated April 14, 2022

'Interesting anomaly': Hospital M&A fell to record low in Q1

Hospital M&A activity in the first quarter bucked last year's trends as both the amount and size of deals shrank, according to Kaufman Hall.

By Hailey Mensik • April 8, 2022

'Appropriate' transition period for COVID-19 test EUAs when public health emergency ends

The FDA is planning to give holders of EUAs for COVID-19 diagnostics and other devices 180 days notice of its intent to end their authorizations, in anticipation of U.S. public health emergency declarations stopping.

By Greg Slabodkin • April 8, 2022

FDA advisers grapple with how to update COVID-19 vaccines

About half of eligible Americans haven't received a booster and may be less protected should cases surge. Health officials hope to soon ready an updated shot, but experts on the committee struggled to identify the best approach.

By Ned Pagliarulo • Updated April 7, 2022

FDA halts Vir, GSK antibody use in response to COVID subvariant's spread

The COVID-19 treatment had a brief time in the spotlight as one of the few drugs that's potent against the omicron variant. A substrain called BA.2 is now dominant in the U.S., however.

By Kristin Jensen • April 7, 2022

Telehealth use rose for third straight month in January as omicron spread

Among the top five telehealth diagnoses in January, COVID-19 tied for second with acute respiratory diseases and infections. Mental health conditions were by far the most common diagnosis, coming in at nearly 60% of all claims.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 7, 2022

Nurses union fights in court for permanent COVID-19 protection rule

National Nurses United argued before a federal appeals court on Monday that an existing temporary emergency standard isn't enough to protect healthcare workers from the ongoing threat of COVID-19.

By Susan Kelly • April 5, 2022

Surprisingly, physician burnout could contribute to slightly better outcomes, new study suggests

But this doesn't indicate that physician burnout is beneficial or should be tolerated, researchers said, stressing that the relationship between burnout and outcomes is complex and needs further investigation.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 4, 2022

Hospitals struggle to fill staffing holes in short, long term amid surge in nurse turnover

"This is a bigger workforce shortage than we have ever dealt with," said Gay Landstrom, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Trinity Health, a nonprofit system with 88 hospitals nationwide.

By Hailey Mensik • March 31, 2022

Surprise medical bills rank as public's second-highest financial worry, survey finds

While 58% of the public said they're worried about being able to afford surprise bills, the majority of people with private insurance stated they knew nothing about the consumer protection law that went into effect in January.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 31, 2022

FDA clears second COVID booster for older adults, immunocompromised

Citing "some waning of protection over time," the agency authorized another dose of either Pfizer's or Moderna's shots for adults aged 50 years or older as well as for people with weakened immune systems.

By Ned Pagliarulo • March 30, 2022

Hospitals bet big on venture capital amid COVID-19 revenue flux

Hospitals are increasingly acting as venture capitalists, ratcheting up investments in companies with products they can use and scale, according to a data analysis of hospital VC arms conducted by Healthcare Dive.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 30, 2022

Hospital E/M visit charges continued to rise in 2020, Fair Health finds

Meanwhile, the percentage of claims for telehealth shot up from just 0.22% of all claims in 2019 to about 15% in 2020, as COVID-19 restrictions set in and patients worried of virus transmission.

By Shannon Muchmore • March 30, 2022

Eyeing Europe's COVID-19 resurgence, AHA asks HHS to renew public health emergency

In a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, hospitals emphasized the need to be prepared for more potential disruptions to the healthcare delivery system.

By Susan Kelly • March 29, 2022

Long-term health of patients, hospitals at stake as care delays continue

As federal relief funds dwindle and volumes remain stagnant, concerns are mounting about the stability of many providers' operations, especially those lacking robust outpatient services.

By Samantha Liss • March 29, 2022

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic

Hospitals overhauled their operations in COVID-19's early days. Now, two years into the pandemic, they are looking ahead at the future of their business, including revenue diversification and workforce stability.

March 29, 2022

Hospitals saw negative operating margins in February for second consecutive month

Even as cases of the omicron variant plummet, the metrics indicate a "challenging recovery," according to Kaufman Hall's monthly report.

By Hailey Mensik • March 28, 2022