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

UnitedHealth says self-swabbing study spurred FDA coronavirus policy change

The agency now allows onsite self-collection of samples, after a nearly 500-patient study found self-administered tests about as accurate as those carried out by clinicians.

By Nick Paul Taylor • March 26, 2020

Community health centers get $100M for COVID-19 response

Advocacy groups for community health centers welcomed the desperately needed funding, but said it's not nearly enough.

By Hailey Mensik • March 25, 2020

Even with billions from Congress, hospitals set to lose over $1K per COVID-19 case

Those hits, coupled with the loss of lucrative elective procedures — which most hospitals have halted amid the outbreak — could be catastrophic for facilities, especially those in rural areas and with little cash on hand.

By Shannon Muchmore • March 25, 2020

As Congress gains ground on stimulus, healthcare workers ask people to stay home

President Donald Trump, however, said he wanted the nation to be "opened up" by Easter, despite strong advice from public health experts that the U.S. continue social distancing efforts.

By Shannon Muchmore • March 25, 2020

Amid mounting shortage, 5 facts about the nation's stockpile of emergency medical supplies

As healthcare workers across the country scramble for personal protective equipment and other supplies, states are sending in their requests to the Strategic National Stockpile.

By Hailey Mensik • March 24, 2020

Nearly 2 dozen states now have Medicaid waivers for coronavirus response

The waivers allow suspension of federal regulations surrounding prior authorization, sites of care and physician enrollment, among others.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated March 26, 2020

On 10th anniversary, embattled Affordable Care Act faces yet another stress test

The law now faces a significant test as the nation likely heads into a recession amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, straining the health system in an unprecedented way.

March 23, 2020

FDA eases rules on ventilator manufacturers as Medtronic, Tesla talk

While the administration encourages other sectors to pivot to help fight the crisis, providers and some lawmakers want to use the Defense Production Act to compel them. But President Donald Trump has resisted that.

By Nick Paul Taylor • March 23, 2020

Pandemic prompts CMS to drop some reporting requirements for value-based initiatives

Citing the COVID-19 outbreak, the agency provided either deadline extensions for reporting data connected to the projects or waived them entirely for the fourth quarter of 2019.

By Ron Shinkman • March 23, 2020

Ratings agencies issue foreboding reports on hospital finances as AHA seeks $100B to respond to COVID-19

"While the healthcare sector has responded extremely well to past crises, the scale of the coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented," Fitch Ratings warned.

By Ron Shinkman • March 20, 2020