About Covid-19
How the pandemic may fundamentally change the health-care system: “Exactly two years ago, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic and much of American life began grinding to a halt.”
The article is a good review of what has changed and may remain.
Deltacron: 6 things to know about the potential coronavirus variant: Some highlights:
”Three COVID-19 infections in southern France were identified with a delta 21J/AY.4-omicron 21K/BA.1 recombinant, or deltamicron, according to a preprint published March 8 in MedRxiv…
’We have not seen any change in the epidemiology with this recombinant," WHO COVID-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD, said of deltacron during a March 9 media briefing. "We haven't seen any change in severity. But there are many studies that are underway.’”
Justice Department reports more than $8 billion in alleged fraud tied to federal coronavirus aid programs: “In some of the cases, suspects wrongfully obtained federal loans to bolster companies that did not actually exist. In others, large, transnational crime syndicates stole workers’ identities to receive generous unemployment benefits under someone else’s name. And in a series of additional allegations that struck at the very heart of Americans’ pandemic anxieties, federal officials charged a litany of actors who promised tests, which proved faulty, or cures that turned out to be fake — then at times submitted fake Medicare claims to the government for reimbursement.”
Senate Roll call: To prohibit funding for COVID-19 vaccine mandates: 49 For, 50 against, 1 Abstention. The individual votes are listed.
About health insurance
Santa Paula Doctor and Lancaster Patient Recruiter Arrested in Hospice Fraud Scheme that Received Over $30 Million from Medicare: “Authorities today arrested a physician and a marketer on federal charges stemming from a scheme that bilked Medicare out of more than $30 million for medically unnecessary hospice services provided to patients who were obtained through illegal kickbacks.”
Oscar Health, Bright Health, Clover Health post losses exceeding half a billion dollars in 2021: “Despite seeing revenue gains and significant membership growth, three of the largest health insurtech providers — companies that blend technological innovations with traditional insurance — posted losses exceeding $570 million in 2021.”
Details about each are in the article.
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Sutter Health Defeats $411M Antitrust Class Action At Trial : “A California federal jury cleared Sutter Health in a $411 million certified class action claiming the hospital giant used restrictive contracts with insurance companies to illegally boost prices and overcharge millions of premium-paying employers and individuals in Northern California, finding Friday that the hospital giant hadn't violated antitrust laws.”
About the public’s health
Tobacco Product Use and Associated Factors Among Middle and High School Students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2021: Still a big problem: “In 2021, approximately one in 10 U.S. middle and high school students (9.3%) had used a tobacco product during the preceding 30 days. By school level, this represented more than one in eight high school students (13.4%) and approximately one in 25 middle school students (4.0%). E-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product in 2021. Tobacco product use was higher among certain subpopulations, such as those identifying as LGB or transgender, or those reporting psychological distress. Importantly, approximately two thirds of students who currently used tobacco products were seriously thinking about quitting. However, factors that might continue to promote tobacco product use among U.S. youths, such as the availability of flavors, access to tobacco products, exposure to tobacco product marketing, and misperceptions about harm from tobacco product use, remained prevalent in 2021.”
Interim Estimates of 2021–22 Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness — United States, February 2022: “Based on data from 3,636 children, adolescents, and adults with acute respiratory infection during October 4, 2021–February 12, 2022, seasonal influenza vaccination did not reduce the risk for outpatient respiratory illness caused by influenza A(H3N2) viruses that have predominated so far this season.”
While disappointing, it puts into perspective how effective the COVID-19 vaccines have been.
Texas Supreme Court rules against abortion providers challenge to fetal heartbeat law: “The Texas Supreme Court has delivered another blow to abortion providers who are challenging the state’s abortion restrictions, rejecting a lawsuit that objected to the state licensing board enforcing the law.
At issue was whether licensing boards can penalize abortion providers who violate the law that prohibits abortions after a heartbeat is heard, which is usually around six to eight weeks of pregnancy.”
Trends in Cost Attributable to Kidney Transplantation Evaluation and Waiting List Management in the United States, 2012-2017: “In this economic evaluation of cost reports from all certified transplant hospitals in the United States, kidney transplantation–related Organ Acquisition Cost Center (OACC) payments from Medicare amounted to $1.32 billion in 2017 (3.7% of total Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease Program expenditure), and OACC cost per transplantation increased from $81 000 in 2012 to $100 000 in 2017. Transplantation waiting list size and comorbidities were associated with an increase in OACC cost per transplant.
Meaning These findings suggest that pre–kidney transplantation cost is increasing rapidly and these increases may be accelerated by efforts to expand waiting list access.”
About healthcare IT
Critical Access Hospitals Not Included in Congressional Telemedicine Expansion: “The $1.5 trillion package will extend Medicare telemedicine coverage for five months after the end of the public health emergency for several types of providers, but not for critical access hospitals that primarily serve rural areas.
It’s not yet clear why CAH hasn’t been included, but supporters say they’re going to fight to have the issue resolved…
Federal medical centers, rural health clinics, physical and occupational therapists, hospices and other Medicare providers have been included in the telemedicine expansion.”
About healthcare personnel
Nurses are waiting months for licenses as hospital staffing shortages spread: From an NPR investigation:
—Almost 1 in 10 nurses who were issued new licenses last year waited six months or longer, according to an analysis of licensing records from 32 states. More than a third of these 226,000 registered nurses and licensed practical nurses waited at least three months.
—-Some states with lots of nurses are particularly slow: California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio and others stretched average processing times for certain types of licenses to almost four months.
—-Wait times in some states underestimate the problem. NPR's investigation found that states often start the clock on processing times only after an application is marked complete. But nurses NPR spoke with described scenarios where they spent weeks or longer arguing that their applications were in fact complete. Many state boards don't count that lost time when measuring how long it takes to process an application.
—-Several large states have refused to join an interstate agreement that allows nurses to use licenses across state lines — sort of like a driver's license lets you drive across borders. One reason is that nursing boards make most of their money, sometimes tens of millions of dollars, from licensing fees.”
AMA analysis shows 3-year surge in medical liability premium increases: “For the third consecutive year there has been an exceptional surge in the percentage of medical liability premiums with year-to-year increases, according to an analysis issued today by the American Medical Association (AMA). The prevalence of increases in medical liability premiums between 2019 and 2021 has not been observed in about two decades.
The AMA analysis reported that the share of medical liability premiums with year-to-year increases was somewhat stable between 2010 and 2018. The recent period of upward volatility began in 2019 when the proportion of premiums that increased was about 27%, almost double the rate from 2018. In 2020 and again in 2021, roughly 30% of premiums increased….
The size of the largest premium increase in these states ranged from 35.3% in Illinois to 10% in Idaho and Washington.”