Labs warn COVID-19 testing demand will top capacity soon as new hotspots emerge

With the spike in coronavirus cases into the South and West, commercial labs such as Quest Diagnostics say they don't have the resources to keep up and warn turnaround times will likely slow.

By Greg Slabodkin • June 29, 2020

Primary care physicians could take $15 billion hit due to COVID-19 in 2020

A new study in the journal Health Affairs concludes that the nation's primary care practices have come under threat due to the financial pressures caused by COVID-19.

By Ron Shinkman • June 26, 2020

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Labor

Hospitals are navigating persistent labor shortages with the need to cut costs — a source of contention that could leave patients caught in the middle.

By Healthcare Dive staff

As Americans lose job-based coverage, ACA marketplace sets record with near 500K signups

The pandemic has ravaged the economy, severing millions of Americans from health insurance. Many have turned to the Affordable Care Act exchanges to maintain coverage.

By Samantha Liss • June 26, 2020

CMS wants to make home health telemedicine permanent

The Trump administration is also looking to change payment rates for home health providers that would increase Medicare payments by 2.6%, or roughly $540 million, for the 2021 calendar year.

By Rebecca Pifer • June 26, 2020

Short-term 'junk' plans widely discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions, House probe finds

An HHS spokesperson defended the coverage as an affordable option to pricier Affordable Care Act plans, telling Healthcare Dive, "We've been abundantly clear that these plans aren't for everyone." AHIP made similar points.

By Rebecca Pifer • June 25, 2020

Fauci: Trump never asked to slow down testing, 'cautiously optimistic' about vaccine by 2021

Longtime infectious disease official Anthony Fauci characterized the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. as a "mixed bag" and said the "next couple of weeks are going to be critical" as schools debate reopening.

By Rebecca Pifer • June 24, 2020

Medicare Advantage plans could see payments drop in 2021 due to COVID-19, analysis finds

A new analysis by Avalere Health concludes that multiple Medicare Advantage claims dropped dramatically in April due to COVID-19, a trend that could depress payments to insurers in 2021.

By Ron Shinkman • June 23, 2020

AHA appeals price transparency case after judge sides with HHS

In its appeal, the hospital lobby characterized HHS' latest interpretation of the section on price disclosures as "obscure" and "far fetched."

By Samantha Liss , Hailey Mensik • Updated July 20, 2020

Hospital group CEOs pitch more federal aid, looser Medicare loan terms

The provider executives said a looming deadline to repay accelerated Medicare loans, Aug. 1, is too soon given the ongoing economic stress on hospitals.

By Rebecca Pifer • June 23, 2020

HCA nurses issue 10-day strike notice at California hospital

The nurses plan to strike from Friday through July 6, prior to starting contract negotiations with the biggest for-profit hospital chain on July 7.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated June 23, 2020

AMA calls out insurer 'inaction' on prior authorization reform, wants legislative fix

A survey of physicians shows efforts to revamp requirements have stalled, according to the group, which is turning to a bill introduced last year in the House as a way forward without more buy-in from insurers.

By Samantha Liss • June 23, 2020

Medicare claims data for COVID-19 highlights stark racial, economic disparities

Fee-for-service payments for related hospitalizations totaled $1.9 billion for the first months of the pandemic, with Black Americans four times more likely to end up in the hospital from the coronavirus.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 23, 2020

Nonprofit health systems — despite huge cash reserves — get billions in CARES funding

Healthcare Dive's findings revive concerns that greater examination of hospital finances is needed before divvying up COVID-19 rescue funding allocated by Congress.

By Samantha Liss • June 23, 2020

AHA asks for COVID-19 public health emergency to be extended

The group is requesting the emergency status be continued until multiple criteria are met regarding the availability of supplies for testing and treatment, number of patients requiring intensive care and deaths over a two-week period.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 22, 2020

Trump admin sitting on $14B for testing, tracing, Democratic senators say

A letter urging the administration to ramp up its COVID-19 spending comes a day after President Donald Trump said at a rally he had directed officials to slow down testing to keep case numbers low.

By Rebecca Pifer • June 22, 2020

GAO report finds insufficient staffing of HHS emergency responders

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response is also responsible for maintaining the National Strategic Stockpile, which came under fire earlier this year amid PPE and ventilator shortages.

By Hailey Mensik • June 19, 2020

Virtual care at a virtual conference: Telehealth will remain post-pandemic, experts say at AHIP

"If I were trying to be controversial, of course I'd say, 'No, it's going to go away.' But of course no one believes that," Google Health CMO Karen DeSalvo said. 

By Rebecca Pifer • June 19, 2020

NIH loops Quest into effort to test 10K Americans for antibodies against coronavirus

The agency did not disclose which antibody test it will use as part of the All of Us initiative, saying only that the assay has FDA emergency use authorization and is designed to detect IgG antibodies. 

By Nick Paul Taylor • June 19, 2020

With new proposal, Trump administration tries to encourage 'value-based' drug deals

With an eye toward a coming wave of pricey gene therapies, CMS is seeking to make it easier for drugmakers and insurers to enter into contracts linking payment with patient outcomes.

By Ned Pagliarulo • June 18, 2020

Senators back sustaining telehealth momentum post pandemic

Top priorities are axing geographic restrictions and expanding Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for virtual care services, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said.

By Rebecca Pifer • June 18, 2020

Medical groups, health systems expect COVID-19 pinch to last into next year, AMGA says

Although most of the providers surveyed say they have adequate reserves to last at least two more months, the trade group stepped up its pleas for more financial assistance from the federal government.

By Ron Shinkman • June 17, 2020

MedPAC urges MA, ACO tweaks to speed up value-based payment reform

Medicare Advantage and ACOs could be vehicles for much needed value-based payment reform, but not without better aligned incentives and improved quality assessment, the advisory commission said.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 16, 2020

Hit with surprise COVID-19 test bill, lawmaker pushes Trump admin for guardrails to hold patients harmless

Insurers are generally required to cover the tests without cost-sharing under coronavirus relief legislation, yet patients across the country are still receiving bills, Katie Porter, D-Calif., said in a letter to key health officials.

By Rebecca Pifer • June 15, 2020

As states face mounting cases, how 1 NYC system managed COVID-19 surge

To respond to the worst of the novel coronavirus outbreak in its community, New York City Health + Hospitals created three new field hospitals and ordered its 11 existing facilities to "become a single large intensive care unit."

By Shannon Muchmore • June 15, 2020

1 in 4 workers at high risk for serious COVID-19 illness as states reopen despite surges

New data from the Kaiser Family Foundation could throw a wrench in employers' plans to reopen offices and resume a normal course of operations, even as more than half of states report rising COVID-19 infections.

By Rebecca Pifer • June 15, 2020