DCMedical News: Wednesday, July 29, 2020
DCMedical News-DCMN
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, July 29, 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). New resource: The Dartmouth Atlas tracks COVID-19 (here); the range of cases is from 7 new cases per 100,000 in the Bangor, Maine hospital referral region (HRR), to 1,495 cases in Miami HRR.
THE BIG STORY IN HEALTH CARE
Tracking by Johns Hopkins shows on 7-28 at 8:00 p.m. EST worldwide 16,660,138 confirmed COVID-19 cases; 658,813 deaths worldwide; 149,180 U.S. deaths (22%).
Congress Still at Work: CQ reports (here) that “Republicans unveiled seven bills on Monday, and Democrats have already said they oppose the measures because they don't go far enough . . . The House measure also would increase the federal matching rate for Medicaid for states by 14 percentage points, preserve health benefits for workers who are furloughed or laid off, and cover COVID–19 treatment through Medicare Advantage without cost-sharing for patients.” Separately, the Senate Finance Committee examined health care supply matters.
DOCTORS, NURSES AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
Physician Pay Among the Wounded in Pandemic
Modern Healthcare (here) reports on physician pay in 2019 (by specialty, with a collection of independent surveys). The article says “Fields that historically have been in high demand saw furloughs, while others saw pay cuts and even layoffs as elective procedures were restricted, and patients delayed care to minimize exposure to the virus.”
HOSPITALS, NURSING HOMES AND OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
The Joint Commission Passes CMS Accreditation Test, But Not by Much
CMS has approved The Joint Commission’s (TJC) “deeming” authority (here) which otherwise would have expired July 15, for only two years, compared to the six-year approval process which could have been awarded. CMS outlines its concerns as follows: “This shorter term of approval is based on our concerns related to the comparability of TJC’s survey processes to those of CMS, as well as what CMS has observed of TJC’s performance on the survey observation. Some of these concerns stem from the level of detail TJC provides in the daily briefings it provides to facilities, as well as TJC’s processes surrounding its staff interview practices. Additionally, we are concerned about TJC’s review of medical records and surveying off-site locations, in particular for the Physical Environment condition of participation . . . we will continue ongoing review of TJC’s survey processes across all their approved accrediting programs to ensure that all our recommended changes have been implemented . . . CMS expects more frequent review of TJC’s activities to avoid any continued inconsistencies.”
The Accreditation & Quality Compliance Center (here) comments that “For several years, CMS has cracked down on TJC. Then in December 2018, CMS issued a request for comment on possible conflicts of interest by AOs that also offered consulting services for a fee [such as The Joint Commission]. In February of this year, CMS sent the Office of Management and Budget a proposed rule to review on ‘Strengthening Oversight of Accrediting Organizations (AO) and Related Provisions.’ While that proposal was expected to be published in the spring, it still is before the OMB, presumably backlogged because of the coronavirus pandemic.” The publication followed up (here) with a report that “CMS confirms that one of its main stumbling blocks to The Joint Commission (TJC) earning more than just a two-year renewal as a hospital accrediting organization (AOs) was providing too much information during the conference check-in at the end of each survey day . . . [which] can potentially compromise the integrity of the survey process. Based on the level of detail shared, a facility could correct potential deficiencies mid-course, which would skew the findings.”
Opioids and Hospitals
A new H-CUP publication (here) reports that “The rate of opioid-related hospitalizations has increased substantially in the United States, from 164.2 per 100,000 population in 2006 to 296.9 per 100,000 population in 2016. The escalation in opioid-related inpatient stays has been accompanied by a disproportionately large increase in the costs associated with these types of hospitalizations. One study estimated that charges for hospital stays involving opioid abuse or dependence nearly quadrupled between 2002 and 2012, reaching almost $15 billion.” The rate of hospitalization per 1,000 was highest in large urban hospitals, lower in remote rural, with almost 20% of remote rural hospitals reporting no opioid patients at all.
DRUGS & DEVICES
PhRMA Denounces Socialism in Executive Orders on Drug Price Control
The industry trade group (here) says “This administration has decided to pursue a radical and dangerous policy to set prices based on rates paid in countries that he has labeled as socialist, which will harm patients today and into the future.”
READINGS & REFERENCES
MedPAC’s July Data Book
“Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program,” here.
Amabié, Japanese Symbol for Coronavirus, in JAMA, here.
The “legendary mermaid-like creature who is said to emerge from the sea to prophesize good harvests and epidemics, is trending in Japan as a popular symbol of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The image has been part of Japanese culture since 1846 when in Higo Province (today’s Kumamoto Prefecture), according to legend, an unnamed officer went to investigate a strange light that had been appearing at sea. The officer encountered the strange creature who explained, ‘I live in the sea. My name is Amabié. Good harvest will continue for six years. At the same time disease will spread. Draw me and show me to the people as soon as possible,’ before submerging.” 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 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.