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 Parduhn • 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 Parduhn • 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 Parduhn • 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 Parduhn • 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 Parduhn • 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

Dorm rooms as hospitals, ER telehealth: CMS creates 'unprecedented' flexibility as COVID-19 rages on

Hospital groups on Tuesday applauded the actions from CMS, with the American Hospital Association calling the ability to care for patients outside of hospitals' four walls a "critical lifeline."

By Shannon Muchmore • Updated April 1, 2020

FDA clears emergency use of malaria pills to treat COVID-19

The unusual authorization, granted by the agency over the weekend, allows the federal government to distribute millions of doses of the drug to states.

By Ned Pagliarulo • March 31, 2020

5 FDA approval decisions to watch in the 2nd quarter

The FDA's focus is squarely on responding to COVID-19, yet the agency continues to review new drugs for other diseases. Among them: Roche's SMA therapy risdiplam and Intercept's NASH drug.

By Jacob Bell , Ben Fidler • March 30, 2020

Humana, Cigna join Aetna in waiving COVID-19 treatment charges

CVS Health-owned Aetna first made the policy change Wednesday. Cigna is also deploying staff clinicians to assist its telehealth partner MDLive as more patients turn to virtual visits to avoid coronavirus exposure.

By Shannon Muchmore • March 30, 2020

Trump administration expedites Medicare payments to providers amid coronavirus

CMS advances Medicare payments in emergency situations like natural disasters or to address cash flow issues when there's a disruption in claims submission or processing, based on historical payments to a Medicare provider.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • March 30, 2020

'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.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • March 26, 2020

Trump signs $2T stimulus package, clearing $100B for struggling hospitals

The bill, the largest piece of emergency aid in U.S. history, was cleared by the House of Representatives earlier on Friday.

By Samantha Liss • Updated March 27, 2020