DCMedical News: Monday, July 27, 2020
DCMedical News-DCMN
Washington, D.C.
Monday, July 27, 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 7-26 at 8:00 p.m. EST worldwide 16,157,585 confirmed COVID-19 cases; 674,159 deaths worldwide; 146,889 U.S. deaths (22%). An addition to the Coronavirus resource list (below), the Guardian and Kaiser Health News track health professionals dead from COVID-19, here.
Congress Returns: The Hill reports (here) continued (“messy”) disagreement over fundamentals within and between the political parties and branches of government concerning the next (anticipated) COVID-19 relief bill.
Deaths in Older Patients: The Kaiser Family Foundation (here) reports on COVID-19 deaths among older patients, noting that “Adults 65 and older account for 16% of the US population but 80% of COVID-19 deaths in the US, somewhat higher than their share of deaths from all causes (75%) over the same period,” with some state level variation and changes over time. CDC reports in MMWR (here) on characteristics of patients dying from and with COVID-19. Small changes in clinical practice have produced significant improvements in mortality, here.
Testing: Employers seeking waivers for liability (here), and with delays rendering much of current COVID-19 testing “useless,” states are seeking alternatives, according to this Kaiser Health News report.
HOSPITALS, NURSING HOMES AND OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
Continuation of the Public Health Emergency
HHS Secretary Azar has renewed the Public Health Emergency declaration related to COVID-19, originally scheduled to expire July 25. Among the regulatory waivers extended are those pertaining to Medicare payment for telehealth visits, hospital inpatient reimbursement under Medicare (20% increase in MS-DRG payments for COVID-19 patients), and the accrual of expenses and lost revenue for which claims may be made against the HHS Provider Relief Fund.
Hospitals Continue Fight to Keep Prices Paid Secret
Forty hospital associations have filed an amicus brief (here) appealing the most recent ruling in favor of the HHS’ proposed regulations for transparency in hospital pricing. The brief contains, among other information, an excellent bibliography on hospital pricing, citing Gerard Anderson, the late Uwe Reinhardt and other authorities.
Public Hospital Preparedness Debated in New York City
New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer reports to the Governor here, The Gotham Gazette reports here. National Tennis Center boondoggle hospital cost $52 million, treated 79 patients, here.
MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND COMMERCIAL HEALTH INSURANCE
Medicaid Waivers and COVID-19
The Kaiser Family Foundation (here) “aggregates tracking information on approved Medicaid emergency authorities to address the COVID-19 Coronavirus emergency. We include details on Medicaid Disaster Relief State Plan Amendments (SPAs), other Medicaid and CHIP SPAs, and other state-reported administrative actions; Section 1115 Waivers; Section 1135 Waivers; and 1915 (c) Waiver Appendix K strategies.”
DRUGS & DEVICES
Caveats Abound in Interpretation of Drug Pricing Executive Orders
Joshua Cohen analyzes the Presidential orders (here) in Forbes, finding less than meets the eye. Adam Fein reports in Drug Channels on industry implications, here.
READINGS & REFERENCES
America’s Looming Primary Care Crisis
Here, in The New Yorker.
A New Threat to Cardiac and Orthopedic Services, or Just Another “Ditch the Fizz” Campaign?
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled broad-ranging proposals to ban advertising of junk foods, require posting of calories for alcoholic beverages and other similar advert limitations, according to the Financial Times (here). The report noted that the Prime Minister’s “brush with death from coronavirus in April prompted a change of heart from the prime minister, who was convinced that he fell particularly ill because he was overweight.”
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.
The Guardian and Kaiser Health Network, report on health professionals dead from COVID-19, 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
July 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.