News Articles and Studies

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Studies, Reports & Tools

• Tool Helps Hospitals Plan for Critical Care Surges During COVID-19 (RevCycle)

• RAND Critical Care Surge Response Tool
• Related: Stanford Potential Long-Term Intervention Strategies for COVID

• Consistent hospitalist care linked to better patient outcomes, study finds (Beckers)
• JAMA Study: Association of the Work Schedules of Hospitalists With Patient Outcomes of Hospitalization
• Study:Trends in Use of Medical Imaging in US Health Care Systems and in Ontario, Canada, 2000-2016 (JAMA)
• Related: Clinician-Level Predictors for Ordering Low-Value Imaging
• Study: Cooling The Hot Spots Where Child Hospitalization Rates Are High: A Neighborhood Approach To Population Health (Health Affairs)
• Resource Utilization Low Among Patients With First-Episode Schizophrenia (Psychiatry Advisor)

• Study Abstract: Service Use Following First-Episode Schizophrenia Among Commercially Insured Youth

• The American Journal of Managed Care® Examines How Chronic Hepatitis C and Its Treatment Affect Medicaid Costs (Business Wire)

• The Study: Assessing the Burden of Illness of Chronic Hepatitis C and the Impact of Direct-Acting Antiviral Use on Healthcare Costs in Medicaid

• Suicide's Link to Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care (USNews)

• Study:Suicide Among Older Adults Living in or Transitioning to Residential Long-term Care, 2003 to 2015 (JAMA)

• Hospital Discharge Algorithm Saves $860 Per Patient Episode and Reduces Readmissions, According to New Data from Remedy Labs (Businesswire)

• Study:Association of Decision Support for Hospital Discharge Disposition With Outcomes (AJMC)Jama Report: Health Care Spending in the United States and Other High-Income Countries (JAMA)

• Dartmouth study reveals how ACOs use home visits to improve care and reduce hospital use (MedExpress)

• CMS unveils new rural health strategy:CMS Rural Strategy 2018

• Mortality Lower When Inpatients See Their Own PCP in Hospital (Beckers)
• Study: For Inpatients, Primary Care Docs Outperform Hospitalists – A closer look at data showing lower mortality when patients cared for by their own PCPs (MedPage Today)

• FRG report highlights hospital’s failures, Some board members say budget cuts not enough (OAOA)  

• Yale: Collaboration of Health Care and Social Services May Decrease Medical Costs and Visits (ASPPH)

• Study links Blue Cross' big size to Michigan's low hospital prices (Detroit Free Press)

• Study reveals high healthcare costs linked with acute kidney injury (EurekAlert)

• Heroin hospital discharges surpass those due to prescription opioids, Stanford study says (Stanford Med Scope)

• 2017 Employer Health Benefits Survey (KFF)

• Major teaching hospitals produce lower mortality rates than non-teaching hospitals (Fierce Health)

• Summary Article on Study Results (JAMA)

• New AHA Report Finds Hospital Outpatient Revenue Nearing Inpatient Revenue, While CMS Proposes Paying Less for In-hospital Healthcare Services (DarkDaily)

• Teaching Hospitals Aren’t More Expensive Than Non-Teaching Peers  (RevCycle)

Study:Comparison of Costs of Care for Medicare Patients Hospitalized in Teaching and Nonteaching Hospitals (JAMA)

• Managed Care Programs Improve Care, Reduce Costs (Home Healthcare News)

• Survey Details

• FDA Approves Three Immunotherapy Drugs for Patients with Bladder Cancer (NIH)

• Skin cancer on the rise (Mayo Clinic)

• Full Text of Study Article (Mayo Proceedings)

• Surgery won’t help degenerative knee problems, experts say (Reuters)

• Full Text of Study Article (BMJ)

• GAO: Private Health Insurance Enrollment Remains Concentrated Among Few Issuers, including in Exchanges (GAO Report)

• Care shifts from physician offices to outpatient settings and costs go up, HCCI study finds (Fierce Health)

• Heart failure patients readmitted to same hospital may fare better (Heart Association)/
  Full Text of Study Article(JAHA)

• American Hospital Association Rejects Findings of New Health Affairs Hospital Pricing Study (Lexology)

• GAO Releases Report Addressing Post-Acute Care EHR Adoption (HIMSS)
• Retrospective study suggests ED physicians improving both outcomes and efficiency of care (MedExpress)
• JAMA Study Abstract: Trends in Mortality for Medicare Beneficiaries Treated in the Emergency Department From 2009 to 2016

• Annual Update of the National Health Security Preparedness Index: Preparedness Index assesses all 50 states & District of Columbia for health security and preparedness
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• Kaiser Family Foundation Survey Results:
• A View from the States: Key Medicaid Policy Changes: Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2019 and 2020

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•  Rare Disease Healthcare Spending Tops Costly Chronic Diseases (HealthPayer)

• Study:The National Economic Burden of Rare Disease (EveryLifeFoundation)

• State-Level Managed Care Penetration in Medicaid and Rates of Preventive Care Visits for Children (Academic Pediatrics)
• Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN) Guidance and Strategies for Evacuation Planning and Sheltering During Covd (National Academies - PDF)
• FTC begins investigation of physician group mergers and orders insurers to share data (Healthcare Finance)
• Reforms are coming to Indiana's nursing home system. Here's what they mean for Hoosiers (MSN)
• Treating 'fetus as the patient' could reduce the incidence of pre-term labor and premature birth (News-Medical)
• Approved drug could make radiation therapy more effective for head, neck cancer: study (MedicalExpress)
• COVID effect: Less than 80 Hospital mergers in 2020 (HealthLeaders)

• Related: Mass General, Wentworth-Douglass end push for merger with Exeter Hospital (Union Leader)

• More healthy patients are taking genetic test results to their docs; But there are some pitfalls (Fierce Health)Global organizations look past pandemic to other health crises (Atlanta Business Journal)
• JPMorgan, Amazon, and Berkshire Hathaway’s Health-Care Venture Dies. Costs Remain a Problem (Barron’s)
• CMS Home Based Hospital Care Wavier Called  “Enormous Step Forward” (HealthLeaders)
• UnitedHealth Group subsidiary indicted on antitrust charges (Fierce Health)
• FTC Loses Bid to Block Philadelphia Hospital Merger in Extraordinarily Busy Year of Hospital Merger Enforcement (National Law Review)
• In fight over drug discounts, HHS lawyer sides with hospitals (Med City News)
• New guidance from the American College of Cardiology provides a checklist for same-day discharge for elective percutaneous coronary interventions (Medscape)
• Hospital margins continue to fall amid rising expenses (Healthcare Finance)
• The thymus as key to healthy pregnancies (Eureka Alert)
• National Health Care Spending In 2019: Steady Growth For The Fourth Consecutive Year (Health Affairs)
• Study Findings: Despite greater social risk factors, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries receive more outpatient visits and more preventive screenings while seeing more appropriate use of prescription drugs and less unnecessary hospitalizations (BetterMedicareAlliance)
• Report: Building Better Care - The Role of Medicaid Managed Care in Long Term Services and Supports (AHIP)What Final Medicaid Value-Based Purchasing Rule Means for Payers (Health Payer)
• Seattle-based Virginia Mason merges with CHI Franciscan health system to operate 11 hospitals and nearly 300 care locations (Seattle Times)
• AHA reported that 89% of hospitals and health systems have experienced an increase in claim denials over the past 3 years, with 51% saying the increase has been “significant.” (RevCycle)

• AHA White Paper: Addressing Commercial Health Plan Abuses to Ensure Fair Coverage for Patients and Providers

• Study: Non-Profit Health Plans Need a New Medicare Advantage Strategy as Share Losses Widen (Chartis Group)
• Report: Primary Care Spending: High Stakes, Low Investment (Primary Care Cooperative)
• Who Didn’t Get a Second Shingrix Shot? Implications for Multidose COVID-19 Vaccines (KFF)
• GAO Issues Report On Artificial Intelligence In Health Care (Insurance News)

• Report:Benefits and Challenges of Technologies to Augment Patient Care (GAO)

• Policy Brief: Closing the Health Insurance Gap: Two Options for Connecticut and the Challenge of Affordable Coverage for the Near Poor (Connecticut Health Foundation)
• One in Four Kids Seen at Urgent Care, Retail Clinics in 2019 — Pre-pandemic snapshot may change after telehealth ramp-up (Medpage Today)
• CMS will implement 21 new ICD-10 procedure codes for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics; the agency also assigned MS-DRGs for 6 new ICD-10 diagnosis codes for conditions related to COVID-19 as of January 1, 2021 (RevCycle)

• Related: CMS Announces Comprehensive Strategy to Enhance Hospital Capacity Amid COVID-19 Surge (CMS)
• Characteristics of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients Discharged and Experiencing Same-Hospital Readmission — United States, March–August 2020 (MMRW November 13, 2020 in PDF)

• Insurer Participation on the ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2021 (KFF)
• America's Essential Hospitals Issues Public Comment on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Rule (Insurance Net)
• Study finds over 64% of people reported new health issues during 'work from home' (Eureka Alert)
• Medicare Advantage Enrollees Less Satisfied with End-of-Life Care (Hospice News)
• Justice Department: Medicare Advantage Provider to Pay $6.3 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations (Insurance News)
• What the New Rebate Rule Means for Medicare Part D Plans (Health Payer)
• Study: Association Between State Medicaid Expansion and Emergency Access to Acute Care Hospitals in the United States (JAMA Network)
• FTC sues to block Tenet's Memphis hospital deal with Methodist Le Bonheur (Health Care Dive)
• Massachusetts' Survey: Consumers Want Healthcare Price Information, But Few Realize It’s Available (Pioneer Institute)
• HHS Releases Final 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan (RevCycle)
• CMS set to bump MA rates for 2022 in win for payers (HealthCareDive)
• CMS Finalizes Price Transparency Rule with Self-Service Tool (Health Payer)
• Medicare and Home Health: Taking Stock in the COVID-19 Era (The Commonwealth Fund)
• Providers seek extension of 2% Medicare sequester cut relief through 2021 (McKnights)
• Editorial: A Brief Window to Rethink Emergency Care (JAMANetwork)

• Related:Characteristics of Frequent Users of Three Hospital Emergency Departments (AHRQ)

• Pew Calls for Additional Health IT Safety Measures in Hospital Accreditations (PEW)
• Patient-initiated messages made up the majority of physician EHR inbox messages (EHR Intelligence)
• Investing in health literacy could save billions (Fierce Health)
• Redistribution of Federal Funding Across States Due to the Financing of Medicaid and CHIP [PDF] (Urban Institute)
• Key Considerations for Permanently Integrating Telehealth Coverage (HealthPayer)

• Joint Commission Issues Telehealth Safety Advisory (Medscape); Advisory [PDF] (Joint Commission)
• Open Enrollment Marks Shift Toward Virtual member Engagement (Health Payer)

• Study: Genetic data can help predict IBD risk (UPI)
• Medicare has new tool to compare nursing homes, costs, hospitals. How good is it? (Miami Herald)
• As the Pandemic Struck, a Private-Equity Firm Went on a Nursing-Home Buying Spree (Barron’s)

• CMS Care-Compare (Medicare)

• Telemedicine use in the ER can yield positive results for patients and providers (Medical Net)
• Proactivity and partnership pay off for nursing homes in a pandemic, study suggests (EurekaAlert!)
• Predictive Analytics Models Forecast Prevalence of Flu Strains (IT Analytics)

• Study: Integrating genotypes and phenotypes improves long-term forecasts of seasonal influenza A/H3N2 evolution

• Rescue service piloting program to help with substance use, mental health crises (Herald Mail)
• Hospital Readmission Rates Following Outpatient Versus Inpatient Shoulder Arthroplasty (Healio)
• Program to improve outcomes for geriatric surgery patients shows promise (Medical Express)

• Related: New program results in shorter hospital stays, reduces post-surgery delirium in older adults (MedicalNet)

• 100 things to know about ASCs | 2020 (Beckers)
• Penn Med, PHMC lead coalition to save Mercy Philadelphia Hospital (WHYY.org)
• GAO report finds brokers offered false info on coverage for pre-existing conditions (The Hill)
• ED, Inpatient Volumes Stuck Despite Some Hospital Visit Recovery (RevCycle)
• Transportation barriers to care may increase likelihood of emergency surgical intervention (Eureka!)
• MedPAC supports changes to the development of Medicare Advantage plan payment benchmarks (Fierce Health)
• Program to improve outcomes for geriatric surgery patients shows promise in a hospital setting (FACS)
• Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine (National Academies Press 2020)
• CMS'S Proposed Phase-Out of the Inpatient Only List is not Entirely Welcome News (National Law Review)
• Ransomware hack cripples Universal Health Services hospitals, facilities across the US (MSN)Related: Someone died because of ransomware: Time to give hospitals emergency security care (The Hill, Opinion)
• Private Payers Outpace Public Insurance in Value-Based Care Push (RevCycle)
• 2020 Scorecard on State Health System Performance (Commonwealth Fund)
• Cost, Health Literacy Cause for Concern Ahead of Medicare Open Enrollment (Health Payer)
• Census Bureau: Income, Poverty & Health Insurance Coverage in U.S.(Insurance Net)
• Op-Ed: Big data analytics in healthcare is all about ethics (Digital Journal)
• How Has Data Misuse Hurt COVID-19 Efforts? (Medscape)
• Partnering organizations are seeking to improve a provider’s ability to predict tumor response, leading to precision medicine in head and neck cancer care (IT Analytics)
• 66% of healthcare data breaches caused by hackers, HHS data shows (Beckers)

• 6 more health systems identified in Blackbaud security breach, bringing total to 27 (Beckers)

• Minnesota's second-largest health care data breach hits Children's, Allina (Star Tribune)The healthcare challenge: Protecting patient data privacy during a global pandemic (ITPro)
• Study finds disparities in receipt of home health care after hospital discharge (News-Medical Net)

• JAMA Network: Assessment of Receipt of the First Home Health Care Visit After Hospital Discharge Among Older Adults

• Cleveland Clinic, Aetna launch co-branded insurance plan, expand members’ access to second opinions and cardiac care (Cleveland.com)
• Even with Relief Packages,Hospital Operating Margins Still Down Since Start of 2020 (HealthLeaders)
• Many COVID-19 cost-sharing waivers set to expire by October (HealthCare)

• Brief:Cost-Sharing Waivers and Premium Relief by Private Plans in Response to COVID-19 (Peterson-KFF)

• HCA the largest U.S. hospital owner accused in lawsuit of endangering staff during coronavirus pandemic (CNBC)
• Data Reveals Disparities in COVID-19 Hospitalization Rates (HealthIT)Primary care physicians paid global capitation payments hit key quality metrics at higher rates that those paid via fee-for-service, according to UnitedHealth Group (RevCycle)
• Sentara Healthcare, Cone Health Announce Value-Based Care Merger (HealthPayer)
• Consolidation Of Providers Into Health Systems Increased Substantially, 2016–18 (HealthAffairs)
• As the Pandemic Struck, a Private-Equity Firm Went on a Nursing-Home Buying Spree (Barron’s)
• 340B Hospitals Lose Court Challenge to OPPS Rate Cut (AAMC)
• A routine ECG enhanced by artificial intelligence is better at identifying heart failure than a standard blood test (Health Analytics)

• Study: Evaluating dyspnea in the ED

• Government [Feds] moves to block Geisinger’s partial acquisition of Lewisburg-area hospital (PennLive)
• OIG: Mediare Overpaid Hospitals $267M for Post-Acute care Transfers to Home Health (Health Leaders)
• Emergency Department visits plunged as COVID-19 cases climbed, Yale study finds (Eureka!)
• CMS finalized 2021 Medicare payment rates for inpatient psychiatric facilities and hospices in addition to the $750M boost in skilled nursing facility reimbursement (RevCycle)
• Psychiatric visits to the emergency room rise despite the ACA (MedExpress)Study Using TriNetX Real-World Data Finds Cancer Screenings Fell 89% During COVID-19 (Newswire)
• HHS Extends Public Health Emergency (Revcycle)
• Early Impact Of CMS Expansion Of Medicare Telehealth During COVID-19 (Health Affairs)
• An Early Look at 2021 Premium Changes on ACA Exchanges and the Impact of COVID-19 on Rates (KFF)
• UVA pioneers study of genetic diseases with quantum computers (Newswise)
• Half of Hospitals to Operate in the Red By Year’s End (FierceHealth)
• Study identifies patient- and hospital-level risk factors for death in critically ill COVID-19 patients (MedicalExpress)
• Data Reveals Chronic Disease Burden Among Individuals with HIV (HealthAnalytics)
• Association Between Federal Value-Based Incentive Programs and Health Care–Associated Infection Rates in Safety-Net and Non–Safety-Net Hospitals (JAMA Network)
• Hospitalization for acute heart failure: the in-hospital care pathway predicts one-year readmission (Nature/Scientific Reports)
• Cost of preventable adult hospital stays topped $33 billion in 2017 (The Hospitalist)

• HCUP Statistical Brief #59, June 2020: Characteristics and Costs of Potentially Preventable Inpatient Stays, 2017 (HCUP)

• Preterm Birth Ups Mom's Long-Term Heart Disease Risk: Study (US News/Health Day)
• AHA urges CMS to keep relaxed regulations beyond crisis (HealthDive)
• Prior Authorization Burden Continues to Rise, Physicians Report (RevCycle)

• AMA Survey Summary (AMA)

• Court Upholds CMS’ Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule (HealthLeaders)

• Memorandum Opinion (US Courts.Gov)

• An Early Look at the Potential Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Health Insurance Coverage (Commonwealth Fund)Telehealth May Help Payers Control Uncertain Healthcare Spending (HealthPayer)
• Priority Health and Cigna (NYSE: CI) today announced they have formed a Strategic Alliance (Cigna)

• Related: Highmark Inc. and HealthNow New York Inc. Announce Affiliation Agreement (Highmark)

• Mercy Hospital Owners Exploring Options To ‘Transition Campus’ In Order To Keep Hospital Viable (MSN/CBS Philly)
• Related: City notified about potential closing of West Philly Mercy Hospital’s inpatient facility (WHYY)Psychiatric hospital rejected 3 years ago still wants to add Portland-area inpatient beds. Deep in ‘crisis,’ Unity says there’s no need. (OregonLive)
• NJ Legislators Call on [Govenor] Murphy to Intervene in Effort to Save Local Hospitals (Tapinot Bayonne)
• New model may help predict stroke risk in adults with migraine and aura (Newsroom)
• One in five operations may lead to surprise bills, even when surgeon and hospital are in-network (MedExpress)
• Kentucky Hospital Association asks to join lawsuit defending certificate of need law (Beckers)
• Study:Hospital Use Declines After Implementation Of Virginia Medicaid’s Addiction And Recovery Treatment Services (Health Affairs)
• National identifier not a 'panacea' for patient-matching, experts say (ModernHealthcare)
• Rural Health Disparities Linked to Socioeconomic Status, Care Access (Health Analytics)
• When Site-Of-Service Policy And Payment Reforms Converge: The Case Of Joint Replacement Surgery (Health Affairs)
• Why the New U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate Is Important (USNews)
• NEJM: transcatheter aortic valve replacement shows similar safety outcomes as open-heart surgery (EurekaAlert)

• Related: Study clarifies pros and cons of open-heart surgery versus TAVR for treating aortic stenosis

• Preeminent Hospitals Penalized Over Rates Of Patients’ Injuries (KaiserHealthNews)
• Study finds association between therapy time, length of stay after hip fracture surgery (MedExpress)
• Colorado Healthcare Costs Keep Climbing Due to Hospital Cost-Shifting (RevCycle)

• Maryland Hospital Association Issues Comment on Medicare Program: Modernizing, Clarifying Physician Self-Referral Regulations (Insurance Net)
• Forced rate disclosure goes too far, insurers and hospitals argue (Modern Healthcare)
• Commentary: Nursing homes grapple with sick residents, insufficient budgets (TimesUnion)
• Preventable hospital death estimates are too high, study finds (Beckers)
• Florida Hospital Association launches price transparency initiative (FloridaPolitics)
• Details Sparse on [Governor] Murphy’s Office of Health Care Affordability and Transparency (NJ Spotlight)
• Rising inpatient acuity may not mean patients are sicker, Mass. commission finds (ModernHealthcare)
• Patients Want A 'Good Death' At Home, But Hospice Care Can Badly Strain Families (KHN)
• Epic Systems, a major medical records vendor, is warning customers it will stop working with Google Cloud (CNBC)
• [West Virginia]House debates Certificate of Need bill (Weirton Daily)
• The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) is recommending that NIH dramatically revise its data sharing and management proposal to maximize the value of scientific data (HealthIT)
• EHR Data, Claims Data Can Successfully Predict Hospitalizations (RevCycle)
• Florida Legislature eyes more certificate of need' changes for care facilities (Tampa Business Journal)
• Proposed certificate of need' changes questioned at Michigan Senate panel hearing (Crains)Payer mix, patient volumes contributed to Astria Regional's financial issues (Yakima Herald)
• Opt-In Consent Policies: Potential Barriers to Hospital Health Information Exchange (AJMC)
• Minnesota law gives green light to safety surveillance cameras in senior homes (Star Tribune)To Stop Now Would Be Foolish': Doubling Down On Services For High-Cost Patients (NPR)

• NEJM Study Abstract: Health Care Hotspotting — A Randomized, Controlled Trial

• AHA, AAMC Sue HHS Again Over Outpatient Site-Neutral Payments (RevCycle)

• Filing (PDF)

• The 2010s have proved to be an important decade for healthcare innovation and reforms. Here are the top trends that defined the time readmissions, mortality (Healio)

• Here’s how ‘Medicare for All’ would affect every part of the $3.5 trillion US healthcare system (Business Insider)

Related:

• Opinion: What will happen to doctors and hospitals under Medicare-for-all? It's complicated (The Week).
• Rural Hospitals Say ‘Medicare For All’ Would End Up “Closing Our Doors” (WBUR)
• Hospitals Stand to Lose Billions Under ‘Medicare for All’ (NYT)
• Opinion: The risks of ‘Medicare for all’ (Boston Globe)
• Opinion:It’s time for Democrats to get their facts right on Medicare-for-all (Washington Post)

Health Reform/Medicare for All