Arizona News

COVID-19 Weekly Update October 29, 2020

Arizona is bracing for the impact of climbing positive rates all over the country, with ADHS encouraging Arizona residents to stay the course in order to keep cases from drastically increasing. On date of publication, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 data dashboard, there were 1,044 new cases reported...
Arizona News

Hospital Planning, Funding and Reporting Regarding COVID-19

Arizona might not be experiencing the national so-called “second wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic, but hospitals are certainly bracing themselves for the possibility that cases could rise again. Many hospitals nationwide are struggling to grapple with the effects of the second wave, as funding and financial relief from Washington also...
Arizona News

Healthcare: Trump vs. Biden

As the highly anticipated presidential election fast approaches, the campaigns are working overtime to tout their contrasting positions on a variety of important healthcare issues.  As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rise across the country, no topic is more pressing than the pandemic. According to an NPR analysis relying on...
Arizona News

CMS Approves Medicaid Work Requirements for Nebraska

On Oct. 20, CMS approved a waiver that allows adult Medicaid beneficiaries in Nebraska to receive additional benefits, including vision and dental, if they participate in work requirements.  The program is set to go into effect in April 2021. Nebraska’s new Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration called “Heritage Health Adult" is...
CMS Rules

Value Based Payment Models Update

Value-based care continues to be a focus in the news this week, as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma penned an op-ed in Modern Healthcare about the Centers’ support for models driven by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. These programs have on the whole lost more money than they’ve...
National News

Barrett Confirmed to SCOTUS, What This Means for the ACA

Amy Coney Barrett was sworn into the Supreme Court this week, bringing the total number of Trump appointees to three and the total number of “conservative” justices on the Supreme Court to six. This means that it’s a very good time to recall that the case California v. Texas is currently under review by the court. In this case,...
Arizona News

Heathgrades Awards Arizona Hospitals for Excellent Care

On Oct. 20 Healthgrades published its 2021 Specialty Excellence Awards, including the top hospitals for neurosciences, spine surgery and cardiac care. Healthgrades 2021 report to the nation evaluates the risks associated with outcomes in elective care and shows why consumers should research hospital quality to make informed...
National News

HHS Redefines Provider Revenue Lost During Pandemic

The federal agency retracted the September change it made to the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) reporting rules after being warned by hospitals and lawmakers that some providers might have to return payments. According to a recent HHS announcement, the agency amended the reporting instructions on October 22 to allow hospitals to...
Arizona News

NAH Retains Sedona ER & Broadens Use of Flagstaff Emergency Physicians

After nearly 25 years in Sedona, Northern Arizona Healthcare is committed to operating the ER in the Northern Arizona city for at least five more years. After receiving feedback from community stakeholders the healthcare system said it will periodically review its operations, but for now, it also has plans to develop a breast cancer...
Arizona News

Jim Whitfill, MD: Winner of Health Current's Health IT Leadership Award

HonorHealth's Chief Transformational Officer earned the award for outstanding record of digital transformation at HonorHealth and in the state of Arizona, in addition to his efforts and impact during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The awards were presented at the 2020 Health Current Virtual Summit & Trade Show on October 14, 2020...
Arizona News

More Exchange Options in Maricopa County as UHC Joins Market

It was a nail biter, but late last week UnitedHealthcare finally confirmed it would be offering individual and family plans in Maricopa County during the upcoming open enrollment on HealthCare.gov beginning November 1. UnitedHealthcare is already a major local market force with nearly 1.7 million Arizona members across commercial,...
Arizona News

COVID-19 Weekly Update October 21

The infection rate in Arizona is steadily on the upswing across the state. At time of publication the number of new cases reported for Oct. 21 are 975, bringing the state total to 233,912. There were 17 new deaths reported today, the total is now 5,854. Deaths reported today will be retroactively reassigned to date of death. With 10,720...
National News

WHO Study Finds Remdesivir Does Not Reduce Deaths or Hospital Stays

In a study sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) released this week, Remdesivir was not shown to reduce deaths or hospital stays. Remdesivir is the only antiviral drug authorized for the treatment of COVID-19 and was granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration May 1. A trial by the National...
Arizona News

AMA Study: Health Insurance Competition Declining in US Markets

Last week, the American Medical Association released the 19th iteration of its recurring report on health insurance in the U.S., revealing dwindling competition among insurers across the country.  The report found that 74% of American health care markets are highly concentrated, meaning they are largely dominated by a small...
Arizona News

CMMI Under Fire for Value-based Care Model Losses

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, authorized under the Affordable Care Act, is tasked with compiling new models of care and payment in order to streamline and improve methods of reimbursement and tighten spending for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. There are many who believe in the potential of value-based...
Arizona News

Abrazo Hospital in Surprise Opens

On Oct. 12, Phoenix-based Abrazo Health opened a hospital in Surprise, Arizona. The Abrazo Surprise Hospital has a 13-bed emergency department, eight inpatient rooms, one operating room, ultrasound, x-ray, CT scan, laboratory and pharmacy. The neighborhood hospital provides 24/7 emergency care and surgical services, with inpatient...
Arizona News

Arizona MA Market - New Products from Devoted & Banner Health

Devoted Health, run locally by longtime Arizona healthcare faces, Keith Dines, Rick Rock and Brian Riveland, MD is offering 2021 HMO products in Maricopa County while Banner Health offers both HMO and PPO products in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties. As Medicare Advantage annual enrollment continues through Dec. 7, Arizona's Medicare...
Arizona News

CMS Approves Medicaid Expansion/Work Requirements in Georgia

Last week CMS said it has taken steps to advance a package of state-led reforms that could result in thousands of uninsured Georgians gaining access to coverage. Specifically, CMS announced the approval of Georgia's new Medicaid section 1115 demonstration called "Pathways to Coverage." CMS began implementing work requirements for...

AZ COVID-19 Update October 15 - Hospitalization Data Errors and Mask Effectiveness

Last week, Arizona Department of Health Services director, Dr. Cara Christ explained some discrepancies in data reporting and said that there was “no end in sight” for the emergency declarations. Cases at universities in general are down, save for a rise in cases at Grand Canyon University. But on the bright side, a report from the...

UnitedHealth Group Unveils Policy Proposal to Overhaul Medicaid and the ACA Exchange

Insurance giant UnitedHealth revealed its policy recommendation package “The Path Forward To A Next-Generation Health System” last week, a reform proposal that states could use via the Affordable Care Act’s waiver authority to move low-income exchange enrollees into a Medicaid buy-in program. In Arizona, UnitedHealthcare covers...

COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Update

This week, while cases of COVID-19 are generally up across the country, efforts to improve access to testing and create a vaccine are moving forward. According to government officials, Operation Warp Speed is supposedly on track for 700 million doses of a vaccine while companies report difficulties continuing trials. In Dr. Gerald’s...

AAOS Partners with CMS on Model Year 4 BPCI Advanced Program in 2021

Beginning January 1, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will use American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) registry-reported data as part of its new Alternate Quality Measures Set—demonstrating a shared interest in promoting value-based care and ensuring that payment models for musculoskeletal care can...
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