Apr 17, 2020 | Managed Care Friday
28: Percent of families in a quick poll we did with parents of students in college or medical school who say they will likely need to either transfer their students to a lower-cost community college or forgo continuing medical school, due to changes in job income. Underappreciated Pediatric Risks: Pediatric practices are having to revise their usual procedures during the pandemic but are having difficulties doing so. In California, Berkeley Pediatrics has split its office into two parts, a separate back entrance that leads upstairs for healthy patients and the downstairs area for sick...
Apr 15, 2020 | Inpatient Psych, Medicare
CMS indicates that they are proposing rules with minimal policy changes in order to alleviate regulatory burden on providers due to COVID19. This brief summarizes the FY 2021 proposed rule for Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities (IPFs). Click to read more.
Apr 15, 2020 | Medicare, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)
CMS indicates that they are proposing rules with minimal policy changes in order to alleviate regulatory burden on providers due to COVID19. This brief summarizes the FY 2021 proposed rule for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). Click to read more.
Apr 15, 2020 | Hospice, Medicare
CMS indicates that they are proposing rules with minimal policy changes in order to alleviate regulatory burden on providers due to COVID19. This brief summarizes the FY 2021 proposed rule for Hospice. Click to read more.
Apr 14, 2020 | ESRD, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Part D
CMS released the 2021 Medicare Advantage Advance (MA) Rate Announcement on April 6, 2020. The finalized rate updates are estimated to increase MA plan payments by +1.66%, 0.73 percentage points higher than the advanced notice, with another +3.56% increase due to plan risk coding behavior. CMS also finalized several key policies to align MA reimbursement for ESRD beneficiaries with requirements from the Cures Act. Click to read more.
Apr 10, 2020 | Managed Care Friday
50: The percent of alcohol sales growth across the country that addiction recovery provider, Eleanor Health, has noted since the virus started. “People are using more substances to cope,” Nzinga Harrison, MD, Chief Medical Officer, reported live on our behavioral health forum April 3rd. “We know this is a high stress time.” Harrison said that the company’s value-based structure has been helpful to stay in touch with patients and continue providing services. If you missed, reach out for a recording. Sepsis Implications: An untreated UTI can lead to sepsis, and a family doctor running a small...
Apr 7, 2020 | Commercial Insurance, Dental, DMEPOS, Drugs, Home Health, Hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)
National Health Expenditure (NHE) projections, released in March, point to increasing prices of medical goods and services as a major driver of health spending growth, from 3.6T in 2018 to 6.2T in 2028. NHE forecasts do not account for changes in spending under COVID-19. This brief will take a look at recently released projections. Click to read more.
Apr 3, 2020 | Managed Care Friday
Allergy Pop: A biologist from New Mexico has created a special lollipop to help with allergies, which is probably well-timed as we head into allergy season and a prolonged pandemic. The biologist was selling the pops out of a strip mall in Santa Fe, but in a bit of kismet, started selling them through Amazon in early February. The biologist, Cliff Han, claims they sort of help turn off the immune system that makes you sneeze or cough. The AllerPops are made with sugars and amino acids to promote good bacteria, but they have not been evaluated by the FDA nor do allergists necessarily buy-in....
