Author's posts
CMS expanding Medicaid initiatives in Massachusetts and Oregon
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration initiatives in Massachusetts and Oregon, both of which aim to test improvements in coverage, access and quality.
Payer group decries insurer fines in House mental health parity bill
Major payer group the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), representing large employer plan sponsors, wrote a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives this week decrying legislation that would impose fines on insurers who don’t follow mental health pay …
OIG finds ‘significantly reduced’ improper payments to acute care hospitals
An audit of inappropriate Medicare payments to acute care hospitals has found that such improper payments are on the decline: While hospitals logged $39.3 million in improper Medicare Part B payments from 2016 to 2021, that’s a decrease from the $51.6 …
Pharmacists ask administration to retain COVID-19 emergency powers
A major pharmacy group has sent a letter to the White House urging the administration to retain COVID-19 emergency provisions under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act for a couple more years.
HHS putting $5 million toward cancer screening access
The Biden administration is putting $5 million toward community health centers in an effort to increase access to cancer screenings and early detection services for underserved populations. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the …
Moody’s downgrades Envision Healthcare, says bankruptcy possible
Physician staffing company Envision Healthcare is struggling financially, and these struggles are reflected in a Moody’s Investors Service credit rating downgrade, which took into account ongoing labor pressures and a decline in volumes linked to the C…
Feds awarding $1.6 billion in funds to address overdose, addiction crises in communities
In a push to prevent drug overdoses, the federal government is awarding more than $1.6 billion in investments for communities throughout the country addressing the addiction and overdose crisis. The funds are being awarded by the U.S. Department of Hea…
Drug treatment admissions fell sharply for people of color during pandemic
Admissions to drug treatment programs declined by nearly one-quarter during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the cuts steepest among people of color, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
BCBS: Racial disparities in maternal health complications increased during pandemic
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has released data showing evidence that women of color are at higher risk of pregnancy-related complications, regardless of having commercial health insurance or Medicaid.
Instead, the numbers indicate U.S. mater…
New ‘digital masks’ touted as means of protecting patient privacy
Technologists writing in the journal Nature have created a digital “mask,” dubbed the DM, which they say offers a pragmatic approach to safeguarding patient privacy in electronic health records and during virtual healthcare visits.
There appear to be c…
