ABSTRACT
All these factors led to disheartening headlines regarding health system losses, hospital closures, and even physicians leaving the profession.1 Additionally, as of November 2022, Becker's Hospital Review reported significant dips in cash on hand for multiple large health systems.2 Despite this decrease in cash, many large health systems still have healthy cash reserves. [...]there is some positive news for Medicare reimbursement through the final Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) rule released in late 2022. [...]one more item to monitor in 2023 will be the status of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) period declared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
The bill would create a new commission to determine "how to modernize the use of health data and privacy laws to ensure patient privacy and trust while balancing the need of doctors to have information at their fingertips to provide care." The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was created in the 1990s to protect patient and provider interactions, However the law may be seriously outdated as it was written prior to many of the technologies used in patient care and health maintenance today (i.e., smartphones, wearables, telehealth, etc.). Earlier in March, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra signaled that the agency would strive to sustain expanded access to telehealth based on its growing presence and significance in care delivery today.
ABSTRACT
Certain specialty procedures are slated to decrease significantly, like thrombectomies (-22%) and angiograms with Stents (-22%).3 Given the rule's potential for a significant financial impact on physician practices, leaders will need to watch closely as CMS releases the 2022 final rule in November. [...]the rule also proposed changes to the weighting of MIPS performance categories, with Quality shifting from 40% weight to 30% and Cost shifting from 20% to 30%1. "Medicare has closed the gap between the inpatient and the hospital outpatient reimbursement rates, effectively eliminating any monetary incentive to perform a total knee replacement as an inpatient case," said Matt Reigle, associate principal of ECG Management Consultants, during a Becker's Healthcare ASC conference.5 Additional efforts to shift outpatient services into lower-cost care settings may be included in forthcoming CMS rules in the near future.
ABSTRACT
A recent Kaufman Hall study commissioned by the American Hospital Association estimated that hospitals could lose between $53 billion and $122 billion due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19.2 Below is a summary of several of the ARP's more impactful provisions for hospitals, health systems, and physician practices: * The ARP provides an additional $8.5 billion for rural healthcare providers, including rural health clinics, separate from the previous Provider Relief Fund. An additional $500 million will be allocated to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to award grants to cover COVID-19-related expenses for eligible entities such as rural health providers. * Several components of the law support vaccine and testing efforts, specifically $7.5 billion for the CDC to plan, promote, distribute, and track vaccines;approximately $8.0 billion for state public health efforts;$47.8 billion to continue implementing a national testing strategy;and $1.8 billion for genomic sequencing and surveillance initiatives. * State Medicaid and CHIP programs will be required to cover, without cost-sharing, COVID-19 treatment and prevention services for one year after the public health emergency period. The law also provides additional incentives for states to expand Medicaid coverage if they have not already done so.3 * The sum of $3.5 billion will be allocated for block grants addressing behavioral health disorders and supporting behavioral health programs. * The paycheck protection program will receive an additional $7.3 billion. * The amount of $450 million will be directed to skilled nursing facilities to improve COVID-19 prevention protocols and support infrastructure to address outbreaks.4 SENATE EXTENDS MEDICARE SEQUESTER FIX While most healthcare advocacy groups reacted positively to the ARP's final provisions, some continued to call for additional support.
ABSTRACT
[...]as if a Supreme Court vacancy, upcoming ACA ruling, and healthcare policy debates were not enough, House Democrats released the details of a revised COVID-19 relief bill after months of unsuccessful negotiations stalled in early September. Below are some of the highlights of the proposal for reference:6 * An additional round of $1200 stimulus checks * Extension of $600 unemployment benefits boost through January 2021 * $225 billion for education funding * $120 billion for restaurants * $436 billion for state, local, and tribal governments * $75 billion for COVID-19 testing, tracing, and isolation measures * $15 billion for the U.S. Postal Service Our previous Washington Report mentioned how high the stakes are in this upcoming election.7 With so many critical issues on the table, the next few months will be incredibly busy in DC. [...]that time, stay safe, wear a mask, and wash your hands! Y Copyright © 2020 by American Association for Physician Leadership®.
ABSTRACT
[...]the magnitude of the pandemic has grown to 1,571,617 cases as of May 22.1 Moreover, the economic disruption has led to an unemployment rate of 14.7%, the worst since the Great Depression.2 In addition, the healthcare industry has experienced a flood of temporary regulatory adjustments aimed at improving access to care at home and relieving the financial impact of caring for COVID-19 patients. Despite such efforts, this crisis has still had a devastating effect on our "recession-proof" industry, with hospital operating margins falling approximately 174% in April,3 and average volumes for physician practices declining 60% since the beginning of the pandemic, according to one Medical Group Management Association survey.4 As health systems and physician practices work on rebounding in the coming months, we will highlight a few legislative and regulatory efforts to monitor and also begin to look beyond this initial wave of the pandemic. Of that $2 trillion, approximately $150 billion was allocated to support healthcare providers as they managed an influx of patients and experienced massive disruption to operations.5 Smaller healthcare entities, like private practices, were likely not included in these distributions and were forced to seek financial relief through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the CARES act.