News Briefs
Debt Limit Deal Will Claw Back $27.1B in Unspent COVID Funding
President Joe Biden signed a debt limit deal that includes some minimal cuts for healthcare programs just days before the federal government was set to default on its debt, which would have destabilized funding for Medicare and Medicaid. Congressional scorekeepers estimate the deal will claw back $27.1 billion in unspent COVID-19 relief funding from dozens of programs, including some maintained by the CMS, and some of that funding is healthcare-related.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2023-06-05)
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Hospitals Experiment with AI Tools to Answer Patient Messages
Four health systems across the country are piloting a generative AI tool within their Epic EHR platform to generate answers to certain patient messages. The project aims to reduce workload stress for clinicians, particularly during their off hours, by sorting through their e-mail in-box and providing answers to commonly asked and time-sensitive questions.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2023-05-31)
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Measures Aim to Create 'National Patient Safety Board'
People concerned about the safety of patients often compare healthcare to aviation. So why, they ask, can't hospitals learn from medical errors the way airlines learn from plane crashes? That's the rationale behind calls to create a "National Patient Safety Board," an independent federal agency that would be loosely modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, which is credited with increasing the safety of skies, railways, and highways by investigating why accidents occur and recommending steps to avoid future mishaps.
(Source: KFF Health News, 2023-06-05)
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All SNFs Will be Subject to Upcoming CMS Five-Claim Audit
Every skilled nursing facility in the U.S. will be subject to a five-claim audit starting the week of June 5 as regulators try to better assess and root out improper payments. Several experts have said the reviews will take place on a rolling basis, with Medicare Administrative Contractors in every region required to pull five Medicare Part A claims from every facility they cover and review them for potential errors.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2023-05-30)
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Medical Groups, Hospitals Report 10% Increase in Staffing Levels
Medical practices are using more financial incentives to bolster their workforces as staffing shortages continue to be a challenge in 2023. The American Medical Group Association has published its 2023 Clinic Staffing Survey showing medical groups and health systems reported a median of 10 percent increase in staffing levels from 2023.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2023-06-05)
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Nursing Homes Await Minimum Staffing Requirements
A long-awaited federal rule that could rewrite how nursing home owners and operators staff their buildings is in the final stage of review before being released publicly. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities proposed rule was recently received by the Office of Management and Budget.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2023-06-02)
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Retail Clinics Have Seen 200% Increase in Use Over Last 5 Years
Retailers are well-positioned to disrupt healthcare, with a new Definitive Healthcare report showing that retail clinics have seen a 200 percent increase in utilization over the past five years -- higher than primary care, urgent care, and hospital emergency rooms. Rising out-of-pocket healthcare costs, combined with increasing demand from patients for convenient healthcare options, have created a demand for alternative sites of care, with one recent KFF analysis showing out-of-pocket spending increased 35 percent since 2010, averaging $1,315 per person in 2021.
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2023-06-01)
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Lawmakers Introduce Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act
A bipartisan coalition in the U.S. House has filed legislation to make permanent the coverage for telehealth services under Medicare that was expanded during the recently ended Public Health Emergency. If enacted, the bill, Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act, would permanently expand telehealth services that were adopted during the coronavirus pandemic. This includes continuing to allow rural health clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers to provide telehealth services, and expanding coverage of audio-only services for certain conditions.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2023-05-30)
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April Hospital Operating Margins Even, Report Says
Finances broke even as the COVID-19 public health emergency ended, leaving hospitals with little financial flexibility, healthcare consulting firm Kaufman Hall reports. The median year-to-date operating margin index for hospitals was 0.0 percent in April, the latest "National Hospital Flash Report" shows.
(Source: RevCycle Intelligence, 2023-05-31)
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Surveys Show Discrimination, Racism, Violence Common in Health Workplace
A pair of new healthcare workforce surveys outline widespread reports of discrimination, racism, and workplace violence perpetuated by patients and coworkers alike. Among the findings were acknowledgments from respondents that incidents of discrimination are rarely reported to management or law enforcement.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2023-06-02)
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