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 Parduhn • 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 Parduhn • 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 Parduhn • 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 Parduhn • 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 Parduhn • June 15, 2020

CMS pushes back payer MLR reporting deadline, citing COVID-19

The agency said granting flexibility would help insurers pay rebates mandated by the Affordable Care Act more quickly to enrollees, but issued no requirement that they be sped up.

By Ron Shinkman • June 15, 2020

Air ambulance market is 'dysfunctional,' puts most patients at risk for huge surprise bills: analysis

Even the insured struggle to pay, with median charge for in-network claims up from $24,938 in 2014 to $32,708 in 2017, according to claims data from Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare.

By Ron Shinkman • June 12, 2020

It's time for a national hospital supply chain czar

If the current lack of supply chain coordination isn't resolved before the expected second surge in COVID-19 cases strikes, the result will be a far worse crisis, writes Jody Hatcher, a healthcare supply chain expert.

By Jody Hatcher • June 12, 2020

Pennsylvania mandates more COVID-19 protections for hospital workers

The new rules focus on effective contact tracing that is labor intensive, Gerald Maloney, chief medical officer for Geisinger Health, which operates six hospitals in the state, told Healthcare Dive.

By Hailey Mensik • June 11, 2020

COVID-19 fuels major unknowns as insurers tackle 2021 rate setting

An American Academy of Actuaries brief laid out challenges that may boost costs, including a shift in coverage leading to adverse selection, deteriorating health for those delaying care and pressure on reimbursement rates.

By Samantha Liss • June 11, 2020

COVID-19 testing costs may hit $25B per year, AHIP study finds

The low estimate for diagnostic testing is $6 billion, while antibody testing costs could range from $5.2 billion to $19.1 billion, according to the report paid for by the payer trade group.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 10, 2020

Trump administration suggests restarting electives, with reliance on telemedicine, safety measures

Major surgeries should still be limited as much as clinically possible, and facilities should be prepared to screen all visitors and staff for symptoms as well as provide masks for those who don't have one.

By Shannon Muchmore • June 9, 2020

After criticism, HHS directs $25B in CARES funding to Medicaid providers, safety net hospitals

About 750 safety net hospitals will receive funding. The administration noted that many of these hospitals are operating in the red with an average profit margin of -7%.

By Samantha Liss • June 9, 2020

HHS resolves complaint over COVID-19 no-visitor policy for patients with disabilities

In May, the agency began receiving complaints that Connecticut's guidance violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleging that without support people, patients with disabilities were denied equal access to treatment.

By Hailey Mensik • June 9, 2020

To revamp 'antiquated' EHR system, VA needs more specialty docs involved, GAO says

The VA has spent billions of dollars on the new Cerner system and said some 78 billion records have been transferred to a centralized database.

By Ron Shinkman • June 8, 2020

Calls mount for CMS to extend telehealth waivers

The American College of Physicians and Premier want to see pay parity and cost-sharing adjustments stay in place beyond the public health emergency declared for the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Ron Shinkman • June 5, 2020