DCMedical News: Thursday, June 25, 2020
DCMedical News-DCMN
Washington, D.C.
Thursday, June 25, 2020
DCMedical News is published every day both the House and the Senate are in session and on pre-pandemic Regularly Scheduled Session days (see CQ calendar, below).
THE BIG STORY IN HEALTH CARE
Tracking by Johns Hopkins shows on 6-24 at 8:00 p.m. EST worldwide 9,391,433 confirmed COVID-19 cases; 481,036 deaths worldwide; 121,902 U.S. deaths (25%). COVID-19 Executive Orders by State collected by the Council of State Governments, here. The Hill reports that the “U.S. set a record on Tuesday, as 34,700 new cases of COVID-19 were reported” and that “On Wednesday, that record was broken, as more than 38,000 new cases of the coronavirus were reported.
DOCTORS, NURSES AND OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) Finds Physicians Flock to Larger Systems
HPC released Changes in the Massachusetts Physician Market: Data from the Massachusetts Registration of Provider Organizations, here. The HPC found that “the share of Massachusetts physicians affiliated with the largest provider organizations is significant and increasing.”
HOSPITALS, NURSING HOMES AND OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
Nursing Home Mortality in COVID-19 Outbreaks
A study in JAMA (here) notes that in 189 Skilled Nursing Facilities (34% of total number of SNFs) in New York City, Cleveland and Detroit “Mortality increased quickly, raising concerns about the capacity of SNFs to respond to outbreaks. Compounding the challenge, decreased patient census may lead to reductions in revenue at a time when SNFs have the greatest need for additional resources to manage and prevent future outbreaks.”
Hospitals Lose in District Court on Price Advertising, Will Appeal
Organized hospital associations will appeal a ruling (opinion here, docket here, New York Times coverage here) granting summary judgment to HHS to dismiss their suit against HHS proposals which would compel hospital price transparency. U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Carl Nichols wrote “It is undisputed that different groups (or sub-groups) of patients have different economic relationships with both hospitals and third-party payers; that some patients have no third party coverage; and that the amounts paid to hospitals for items and services differ across those various patient groups.” He concluded, “The agency’s decision to define 'standard charges' based on the different patient groups is thus a reasonable construction that accounts for the peculiar dynamics of the health care industry.”
Better Late . . .
The Healthcare Manufacturers Management Council has launched a COVID-19 supply site for vendors and providers, here.
MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND COMMERCIAL HEALTH INSURANCE
House to Vote on Obamacare Expansion Monday
The House will vote on a comprehensive proposal (here, HR 1425) which would: (1) expand the subsidies in the existing Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to make premiums more affordable, especially for those with household income above 150% of FPL, with tax credits available for those with household income over 400% of the federal poverty line; (2) increase the federal match on Medicaid funding to encourage the remaining states to expand Medicaid; (3) rescind regulations allowing for the sale of short-term, limited benefit health insurance plan; (4) revoke an administration “guidance” allowing states to seek waivers for insurance marketplaces; (5) promote outreach and educational activities concerning those marketplaces; (6) set enrollment targets; (7) provide permanent funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and extend Medicaid and CHIP eligibility to 12 months postpartum for new mothers and their children; and (8) allow the HHS Secretary to negotiate drug prices, as in HR 3 in 2019.
Insurance Regulators Reflect on COVID-19 Experience
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners publishes (here) a report on insurance regulation and COVID-19, with a useful timeline of COVID-19-related events in the U.S.
READINGS & REFERENCES
From the National Association of Medicaid Directors:
“Medicaid and the 2020 Economic Downturn: Lessons Learned from the Great Recession.”
The report (here) notes that “Medicaid is a countercyclical program: as the economy contracts, Medicaid eligibility and spending grow (see below). At the same time, states must balance their budgets despite declines in state revenue. Since Medicaid is about a third of state budgets, Medicaid cuts become necessary in economic downturns.”
And a report with a similar theme, “Considerations for Countercyclical Financing Adjustments in Medicaid,” from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), here.
Coronavirus Public Health Resources and References (alphabetical):
Association of American Medical Colleges Clinical Guidance Repository, here.
AMA resource page for physicians here. AMA guide to medical education and COVID-19, here.
American Public Health Association information here.
CDC information page for professionals here, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports on Coronavirus, here.
CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Current Emergencies website, here.
Council of State Governments, here.
JAMA Network’s COVID-19 resource center here.
Library of Congress Coronavirus Research Guide, (here) from the In Custodia Legis blog of the Library of Congress (LoC), with links to Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports.
NIH information page here.
National Library of Medicine Coronavirus page here,
New England Journal of Medicine update here, New England Journal of Medicine Journal Watch here.
The Lancet COVID-19 Resource Centre here and real-time dashboard to monitor clinical trials, here.
The New York Times Coronavirus coverage, here.
Reproduction rate (rt), website https://rt.live/ tracks the highest and lowest COVID-19 reproduction.
State actions, Kaiser Family Foundation, here.
UC Hastings College of Law’s “The Source” (on health care prices and competition) COVID-19 page, here.
The White House open research dataset (CORD-19) here.
World Health Organization COVID-19 page here.
U.S. House of Representatives:
Members at https://www.house.gov/representatives
Committees and Members at https://www.house.gov/committees
U. S. Senate:
Committees and Members at https://www.senate.gov/committees
CQ 2020 Calendar of Regularly Scheduled Sessions, here.
PUBLICATION SCHEDULE FOR DCMEDICAL NEWS
June 26
July 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
August, none
September 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30
October 1, 2
Notes to: Fred Hyde, MD, JD, MBA; fredhyde@aol.com.