FCC releases 1st round of CARES funds for coronavirus telehealth response

Six providers, including those in hard-hit areas like New York and New Orleans, received more than $3.2 million from the $200 million fund set aside for telehealth by the CARES stimulus package Congress passed last month.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 17, 2020

Public health agencies, commercial labs warn patchy IT infrastructure hobbling COVID-19 response

"Public health is spending time digitizing the information, rather than being able to immediately analyze and act upon it," Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, said.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 17, 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

Hospital lobby asks feds for more CARES funds, targeted distribution

The plea comes as CMS said the second round of the $100 billion package will come by the end of the week. The AHA chief said more is needed to address the worst financial crisis in history for hospitals.

By Ron Shinkman • April 17, 2020

Majority of commercial patients may receive surprise bill following ambulance ride

The amount billed to a patient was substantially higher for air ambulance services at a median of nearly $21,700, but ground ambulance rides were more likely to invoke a possible surprise bill, according to a Health Affairs study.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 16, 2020

CDC to launch clinical reporting app for COVID-19 in May

A patchwork of requirements creates confusion and leads to COVID-19 cases being "significantly underreported," a CDC official said Wednesday at a virtual meeting of health IT congressional advisory group HITAC.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 16, 2020

Teladoc, Livongo execs highlight bright spots for health IT amid pandemic

Behavioral health services are one of the fastest growing segments within virtual care, and those tailwinds are unlikely to abate post pandemic, management teams told SVB Leerink analysts.

By Hailey Mensik • April 16, 2020

Hospital CARES funding not quite 'no strings attached'

Chains like Tenet and CHS can expect to see the biggest benefit in relation to profitability as providers start to receive the first $30 billion of the $100 billion allocated, according to Jefferies analysts.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 14, 2020

Doctors say COVID-19 has slashed patient volumes, made finances shaky

A new survey of doctors by Piper Sandler concludes physician practices have been deeply impacted by the coronavirus, with patient encounters down by nearly two-thirds.

By Ron Shinkman • April 13, 2020

GM, Philips land $1.1B in HHS ventilator contracts, Medtronic boosts production

Much of industry has been prodded to ramp up production of the often large, complex and pricey devices barely mentioned in company financials before the pandemic but now seen as critical to saving the sickest COVID-19 patients.

By Nick Paul Taylor • April 13, 2020

CMS further eases top of license rules amid COVID-19

Among the changes: Doctors practicing at critical access hospitals can provide care across state lines using phones, radio or online communications. Their instructions may be carried out by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant.  

By Ron Shinkman • April 10, 2020

AMA, other doc groups seek piece of CARES act funding

The doctors lobby, along with groups representing cardiologists, dermatologists and a range of other specialties, urged HHS Secretary Alex Azar to provide immediate aid "to support them against financial peril while they put their lives and businesses at risk."

By Hailey Mensik • April 9, 2020

Aimed to halt a 'Cold War' of hospital spending, CON laws could see renewed scrutiny after pandemic

With desperate New York City health systems turning to dormitories, parking lots and Central Park to construct emergency hospital beds, the laws spurred by the federal government may face further pushback.​

By Samantha Liss • April 9, 2020

Hospital costs to treat uninsured COVID-19 patients could top $40B

The Kaiser Family Foundation analysis is another indication that more funding will be needed to keep the U.S healthcare system running as it faces the unprecedented crisis.

By Shannon Muchmore , Hailey Mensik • April 8, 2020

COVID-19's public health crisis could also be a financial disaster for hospitals

Most systems already operate on relatively thin margins, with little room to handle a downswing, much less the pandemic that has now caused more deaths in the U.S. than any other nation.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 8, 2020

Gottlieb, other ex-HHS officials pitch national COVID-19 surveillance plan

The proposal comes as the White House is reportedly trying to patch together a real-time system to track hospital response and equipment use amid the pandemic.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 8, 2020

ONC benchmarks $2.5M for projects promoting interoperability

The injection of new funds comes after weeks of urging from the health IT and epidemiology spaces that the Trump administration better monitor the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 8, 2020

$30B in CARES funding to be distributed to hospitals this week, Verma says

The money is based on Medicare revenue, not a "first-come, first-serve basis," the CMS administrator said. Hospitals "will get these dollars. Even if it takes a few days, there shouldn't be any panic in the system."

By Rebecca Pifer • Updated April 9, 2020

Hospitals scramble to triage amid testing delays, PPE shortages, OIG finds

Scarcity of tests and delayed results meant presumptive positive patients greatly strained bed availability, PPE supplies and staffing, the survey of 323 hospital officials found. AHA called it an accurate reflection of the situation.

By Hailey Mensik • April 7, 2020

CMS gives 1.66% rate boost to MA, Part D plans for 2021

The pay bump is more than CMS' original proposal of just 0.93%. The agency also went forward with a plan to use more encounter data to calculate risk scores.

By Samantha Liss • April 7, 2020

VA pauses Cerner EHR implementation — again — amid COVID-19

It's the second delay this year of the multi-billion dollar project, and the latest in a stop-and-go effort to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs' electronic records system.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 6, 2020

Commercial labs push for piece of $100B coronavirus relief

The clinical labs trade group, representing LabCorp and Quest, wants HHS to allocate CARES Act money for expenses or lost revenue related to COVID-19. But there's strong competition from healthcare providers also hurting financially.

By Greg Slabodkin • April 6, 2020

OCR suspends some HIPAA regulations in response to COVID-19

The HHS agency said it would use its discretion to not enforce the law against "the good faith uses and disclosures of protected health information." The change mostly applies to business associates and federal agencies.

By Ron Shinkman • April 3, 2020

HHS to divert some of $100B hospital COVID-19 funding to uninsured

AHA seemed to object to the order, saying funding to treat the uninsured should come from new legislation or an emergency program as the $100 billion for them "was intended to provide hospitals with an infusion of emergency relief."

By Shannon Muchmore • Updated April 6, 2020

Utah pauses Medicaid work requirements amid COVID-19

It was the only state running the controversial program that ties Medicaid eligibility to a certain number of work or volunteering hours.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 3, 2020

AHA seeks $25K per hospital bed from emergency COVID-19 fund

The unprecedented package signed late last week gave wide discretion to HHS for how the $100 billion to health systems would be divided and sent to providers.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 1, 2020