Government: Page 81
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COVID-19 public health emergency extended
Extending the emergency allows several regulatory changes meant to help providers manage outbreaks of the novel coronavirus to continue, including the rollback of telehealth restrictions and Medicare add-on payments.
By Shannon Muchmore • July 23, 2020 -
Opinion
Why COVID-19's biggest impact on healthcare may not be until 2022
This perfect storm of a shift in payer mix, the impending insolvency of Medicare and the inability of states to absorb the growing costs of Medicaid represent a tsunami of challenges, former VA Secretary David Shulkin writes.
By David Shulkin • July 23, 2020 -
Permission granted by BioNTech SE
Coronavirus vaccines speed ahead, but experts fear not everyone will take them
Gaining trust will be a big task as public health officials gear up for one of the biggest immunization campaigns in decades.
By Jonathan Gardner • July 23, 2020 -
Brian Tucker/Healthcare Dive
Coronavirus vaccine developers make case to Congress they can win public's trust
While developing a safe and effective vaccine remains the chief challenge, lawmakers grilled pharma officials on how any successful shot would be fairly priced and distributed.
By Ben Fidler • July 22, 2020 -
Hospitals to challenge loss on site neutral payments
An appeal court ruled earlier this month HHS was acting within its authority when it reduced some payments to off-campus hospital outpatient departments to make them consistent with other outpatient payments.
By Shannon Muchmore • Updated July 27, 2020 -
Alex Wong via Getty Images
Public health officials blast COVID-19 data reporting change imposed on hospitals
"In the midst of the worst public health crisis in a century, it is counter-productive to create a new mechanism which will be extremely complicated to build and implement," one coalition said of the abrupt change.
By Shannon Muchmore • July 16, 2020 -
Trump admin seeks relaxed grandfathered ACA health plan rules that up out-of-pocket costs
The proposed rule acknowledged that changes could lead to higher deductibles and other costs for an estimated 23.1 million enrollees in such plans and lead to more people foregoing healthcare.
By Ron Shinkman • July 13, 2020 -
Alabama Extension. (2020). "The image" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
Shelter-in-place orders prevented as many as 370K deaths, Health Affairs finds
A new study in the journal Health Affairs concluded statewide shelter-in-place orders were effective in cutting down hospitalizations and deaths caused by COVID-19.
By Ron Shinkman • July 10, 2020 -
HHS to funnel additional $4B in coronavirus aid to safety net, suburban providers
Some acute care hospitals didn't qualify for the previous round of funding even though they serve as critical safety-net facilities within their communities. Friday's announcement expands the definition.
By Samantha Liss • July 10, 2020 -
Sutter loses bid to delay $575M antitrust settlement approval
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a plaintiff, applauded the ruling. "Sutter's practices harmed California's healthcare market ... long before the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
By Shannon Muchmore • July 10, 2020 -
Fitch: Repaying Medicare loans unlikely to place significant burden on for-profit operators
The ratings agency, however, is assuming there is a strong rebound in elective procedures during the second half of the year, which may need to be reconsidered if the disruption lasts longer than anticipated.
By Samantha Liss • July 9, 2020 -
"White House Press Briefing". Retrieved from The White House.
As lab giants 'push the frontiers' of capacity, Trump admin pegs hopes on POC tests
Brett Giroir, the administration's lead for coronavirus diagnostics, said the goal is for rapid point-of-care tests from Abbott, BD and Quidel, performed outside of lab settings, to alleviate commercial testing capacity constraints.
By Greg Slabodkin • July 9, 2020 -
Democrats urge Trump administration to force full payer COVID-19 test coverage
The insurance lobby did not refute claims that not all testing is funded in full, particularly for return-to-work programs. Lawmakers said CMS guidance conflicts with legislation meant to spur widespread access to testing.
By Samantha Liss • July 8, 2020 -
The White House/Healthcare Dive, data from WhiteHouse.gov
Here are doctors' offices, hospitals that got COVID-19 paycheck protection loans over $150K
"Had we not gotten paycheck protection, with the decrease in patient volume we saw, we would have had to terminate employees," Beverly Jordan, a physician at a small rural practice in Enterprise, Alabama, told Healthcare Dive.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated July 8, 2020 -
CMS proposes add-on provider payment for at-home dialysis treatment
The agency said Monday the need for more at-home care has never been more urgent, as the ESRD population has the highest rate of hospitalization due to COVID-19 among Medicare beneficiaries.
By Samantha Liss • July 7, 2020 -
CDC gets FDA nod for coronavirus-flu combination diagnostic
The emergency use authorization comes months after BioFire and Qiagen got backing for similar tests and as the coming flu season adds a new complexity to diagnosis.
By Nick Paul Taylor • July 7, 2020 -
With new funding, FCC rural healthcare program set to provide most money in its history
Nearly $200 million in unused funds from prior years are being carried over. The total amount now available to applicants is about $800 million.
By Shannon Muchmore • July 1, 2020 -
Oklahoma votes to expand Medicaid as COVID-19 surges in state
The vote was close, passing by less than one percentage point. The results throw a wrench into Republican hopes to cap Medicaid funding and follow ballot measures in other deep red states approving expansion.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 1, 2020 -
Alex Wong via Getty Images
HHS 'expects to renew' COVID-19 emergency, spokesman says
The department did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning. The public health emergency is currently set to expire at the end of July.
By Shannon Muchmore • June 30, 2020 -
Permission granted by Gilead Sciences
Gilead sets price for COVID-19 drug remdesivir
A typical course of treatment with remdesivir will cost between $2,340 and $3,120 in the U.S., a price range that likely ensures Gilead earns a profit on sales of the drug.
By Ned Pagliarulo • June 29, 2020 -
Retrieved from Flickr.
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 -
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 Parduhn • 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 Parduhn • June 25, 2020
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