Mar 27, 2020 | Managed Care Friday
15: A SNF in Connecticut has seen this much of a percentage boost in admissions due to bringing in patients with significant comorbidity who were at home and “went south.” Rather than be admitted to the hospitals without enough beds and staff, SNFs have become an alternative facility to help the sick patients, particularly those with dehydration or concerning vital sign changes requiring medical supervision and acute level care. This SNF could be an outlier, however, as we’ve heard reports of declining SNF volume, by as much as 30-40%. In some ways, the crisis puts a new spotlight on a...
Mar 20, 2020 | Managed Care Friday
50: Percent increase in Teladoc patient visits in the past week alone, up to 15,000 patients a day, with more than half considered ‘first time users’. Channel 5: A physician in the north shore of Massachusetts is starting to do a daily exercise show with his ‘fitness teacher’ bride on the local access TV channel to help Medicare seniors. He’ll run on the treadmill, show seniors at-home exercises, talk pillboxes, and discuss medication adherence issues. In one ‘scene’ from a pilot episode, the doctor shared an example of how NOT to take your medications. “Don’t eat them with peanut butter for...
Mar 19, 2020 | Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro, Medicaid, Medicare
In broad strokes, the Trump budget proposal for FY21 projects $4.6 trillion in spending reductions through 2030. Presidential budget proposals are just that – only proposals. With a divided control of Congress, few major Trump proposals are likely to be enacted. However, reviewing the specific proposals of a Presidential budget are a useful window into the range of potential future policy developments. Click to read more.
Mar 18, 2020 | Behavioral, Hospitals, Physicians
The Coronavirus is dramatically affecting the way healthcare is administered in the US forcing hospitals and physician groups to make tough decisions about who they see and who they don’t, but it’s also giving way to innovation and collaboration that may represent some hope and a path to a new era in healthcare delivery. Our health policy and market research group on Tuesday surveyed 200 healthcare leaders who are literally in the throes of crisis management, representing a sample of the nation’s leading systems, payers and physician groups and ‘on the ground’ clinical teams. We will be...
Mar 17, 2020 | DMEPOS, Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro
The final agreement on appropriations for FY 2020 increased both the FDA and NIH budgets. Provisions in the appropriations bill also adjusted the reporting period for the market data which impacts clinical lab pricing and excluded manual complex rehab wheelchairs from competitive bidding. Click to read more.
Mar 13, 2020 | Managed Care Friday
94: The number of posts on a high school’s Facebook page up here in Connecticut from parents complaining about the canceling of the ‘championship’ basketball game. “Kids are being deprived of their opportunity for all their hard work,” one parent expressed. Juxtapose that community anger with the challenge ahead for getting take-home backpacks of food to the 49 some kids on free and reduced lunch at an urban school one town over, to kids who are likely to be out of school by next week. Puts the pandemic in some perspective. Social Experiment Continues: That health systems are starting to...
Mar 12, 2020 | Medicaid, Medicare
On Monday, March 9, 2020, the Trump administration finalized rules expanding requirements for health information interoperability that had been proposed by ONC/CMS in early 2019. The final rules mostly resemble the proposed versions, which faced increasing pushback from industry and lawmakers. Both rules are intended to implement legislation set forward in the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 by preventing information blocking and allowing patients broader to access their personal health information, including potentially through third-party apps. Click to read more.
Mar 11, 2020 | Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro
On March 6, the President signed the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. This Act allocates $8.3 billion to fund the government’s response to COVID-19, including vaccine development, support for state and local government response efforts, and assistance for affected small businesses. Click to read more.
