• Rates of the most common form of liver cancer are rising in rural areas (MedicalXpress)

• Employment-Based Health Insurance Declines for Working-Age Adults During Pandemic (US Census)

• FDA Panel Backs Pfizer's COVID Booster for 65 and Older, Those at High Risk (Medscape)

• Humana's reported rise in hospitalizations among seniors is a trend worth watching (HealthCareDive)

• Trends in the Concentration and Distribution of Health Care Expenditures in the US, 2001-2018 (JAMA Network)

• How one of the largest nursing home chains in Florida could avoid nearly all of $256 million fraud judgment (WP/MSN)

• Long-term care needs among retirees varies widely, new research shows (CNBC)

• Report Brief: What Level of Long-Term Services and Supports Do Retirees Need? (Boston College CRR)

• Study: 15M people could lose Medicaid coverage after COVID-19 emergency ends (FierceHealth)

• Since the Pandemic Began, 1 in 500 Americans Have Died of COVID-19 (US News)

• Use of Medicare’s New Reimbursement Codes for Cognitive Assessment and Care Planning, 2017-2018 (JAMA Network)

• North Carolina changes certificate-of-need law (Beckers)

• Hospitals lose legal challenge over changes to DSH payments (HealthCareDive)

• New tool can predict risk of death, hospitalization for patients awaiting cardiac surgery (MedicalExpress)

• Staying home, having access to primary care, and limiting contagion hubs may curb COVID-19 deaths (Eureka)

• Comorbid Insomnia Exacerbates Health Care Utilization, Cost Burden in Patients With Alzheimer Disease (AJMC)

• OIG: Medicare paid new hospitals 3 times more than older facilities for capital costs (FierceHealth)

• Hospitals, needing beds, decry Medicare Advantage practices (MSN)

• Bill Setting NC Nursing Home Visit Standards Gets Final OK (USNews)

• Private equity in the crosshairs (McKnights LTC News)

• Employer-Sponsored Behavioral Health Program Impacts on Care Utilization and Cost (AJMC)

• Lawsuit alleges Mission Health HCA monopoly (MountainXpress)

• How medical notes will change if patients get to see them (KevinMD)

• Most private insurers are no longer waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment (Peterson-KFF)

• CMS axes hospital price transparency mandate from 2022 inpatient payment rule (HealthcareDive)

• CMS Proposes to Reverse Decision on 2021 Inpatient-Only List; Orthopedists Hope Total Joints Are Next (Medscape)

• Surgeons Cash In on Stakes in Private Medical Device Companies (KHN)

• Short-Staffed Nursing Homes Linked To More Readmissions, GAO Reports (Fyne Fettle)

• Highlights & Full Report:Emerging Nurse Shortages Due to Multiple Factors (GAO)

• Deaths from cardiovascular disease in the stroke belt surpasses rates elsewhere in the nation (MedicalXpress)

• Nursing home overhaul bill would boost staffing, oversight (SFGate)

• Is it legal for someone to ask you about your vaccination status? A health law scholar explains HIPAA Privacy Rule (MassLive)

• HCA sought monopoly market power with Mission Health deal, lawsuit alleges (HealthcareNewsHub)

• HCA hit with antitrust lawsuit (Beckers)

• Legislative Audit Council will look at South Carolina's Certificate of Need law (CenterSquare)

• Justice Department says it will not conduct probe into NY nursing home deaths during pandemic (Westchester News 12)

• Survival after cardiac arrest: Cardiovascular surgeons develop a new technique (MedicalExpress)

• Study finds mental health service shortfalls for children in high-income countries (NewsMedicalNet)

• Catastrophic health insurance, an institutional tool against the financial risks of illness for susceptible people (The Lancet)

• A look at SCAN's new medical group for homeless patients (Fierce Health)

• CMS Proposes Rule to Increase Price Transparency, Access to Care, Safety & Health Equity (CMS)

• CMS pitches stiffening price transparency fines, halting end of inpatient-only list (Medtechdive)

• Medicare insurer can use discounts to encourage use of select hospitals, OIG says (Beckers)

• Montana DPHHS seeks public comment on proposal to expand behavioral health treatment services (Char Koosta News)

In the News

Blogs We Follow

Popular Site Destinations

Job Bank

No current postings at AHPA

Federal Agency Blogs

COVID-19 Information

Starting Points:

• U. S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

• CASES, DATA & SURVEILLANCE

• State Health Departments
• NACCHO Directory Local Health Departments
• CMS Nursing Home Covid Data (1st report 5/24/2020)

• Related GAO Report: Infection Control Deficiencies Were Widespread and Persistent in Nursing Homes Prior to COVID-19 Pandemic

Guides & Resources for Reopening Workspaces:

• Kaiser Permanente Releases COVID-19 Playbook: Planning For The Next Normal At Work
• CDC Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers Responding to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

• CDC Workplace Decision Tree
• Summary of CDC guidelines on reopening businesses after the pandemic (Tech Republic)

Additional Resources:

• Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform (CHQPR) Report Summary on Pandemic and Rural Hospital Closure Risk
• Four COVID Vaccines Compared (Medscape)
• CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations
• The Costs of Coronavirus (JAMA Network)
• Largest COVID-19 contact tracing study to date finds children key to spread, evidence of superspreaders (Princeton)
• Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (National Acadamies 2020)
• National Insitutes of Health
• John Hopkins ABX Guide: Coronavirus COVID-19
• The Covid Tracking Project:
• Oxford Martin School’s Our World Data -Covid 19
• University Of Minnesotta CIDRAP Covid Resources
• JAMA Sponsored Live Stream Q & A with CDC
• Kaiser Family Foundation COVID-19 News and Reports
• NEJM : A collection of articles and other resources on the Coronavirus (Covid-19)
• Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME): COVID-19 Resources
• Xtelligent Healthcare: Ongoing Updates on Latest Coronavirus for the Healthcare Community
• Penn Center for Research on Coronavirus and Other Emerging Pathogens Webinars (You Tube Channel)

Older News Items Can be found here