The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed Tuesday to cover the controversial drug Aduhelm when used as an Alzheimer’s treatment in clinical trials. While debate about the drug’s safety has been intense, CMS believes continued clinical trials will address unanswered questions related to the drug’s adverse side...
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a new report with heartening results on a study of 1.2 million fully vaccinated adults in which only 327 were hospitalized and 36 died due to COVID-19.
The CDC study involved patients seen at 465 healthcare facilities across the U.S. from December 2020 to...CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new proposed rule that takes aim at prescription drug costs in Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D plans. The agency said the rule would reduce out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries and improve price transparency as well as "market competition in the Part D...
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has updated preventative care and screening guidelines for women, infants, children, and adolescents, expanding and updating coverage for a variety of preventative care services.
The new services...
West Health and the University of North Carolina developed a new guide intended to serve as a resource for providers, clinical staff, and healthcare administrators working in acute care settings that offer care to a wide population of patients regardless of ability to pay. The guide offers a step-by-step approach for organizations to...
AHCA and NCAL penned a joint letter imploring the government to extend the PHE beyond its Jan. 16 expiration date, arguing that nursing homes are facing a historic labor crisis, losing more than 230,000 caregivers or nearly 15% of the workforce since the beginning of the pandemic. This is the worst among all healthcare professions and is...
So far nearly 14 million plan selections have been reported across the country and in Arizona enrollment is up more than 21 percent; there's still time to pick a plan.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that 13.8 million Americans have signed up for or were automatically re-enrolled in 2022 individual...
The new medical campus close to the I-10 and Loop 303 will break ground this year on 27 acres near the southwest corner of I-10 and Verrado Way. Plans for the campus include a medical office building, ambulatory services and an acute care hospital.
Abrazo Health anticipates its new medical campus will be a healthcare anchor for the...
The award of $969,884 will be used to reimburse expenses for services and equipment related to providing telehealth in response to COVID-19. Northern Arizona Healthcare will use the funds to reimburse the first year costs of its virtual visit platform that launched in January and its Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) program which provides...
Medicare Advantage and the hundreds of investors pumping venture capital into new MA startups rely on one thing: MA growth. For the past several years, MA has been on a quick trend upward, but as it currently only captures under 50% of the market, some are left wondering if the seemingly endless demand isn't just a giant investment...
The No Surprises Act, which intends to end the practice of surprise billing by banning most surprise bills from out-of-network providers went into effect on January 1. The rule will effect not only all emergency care billing and "most" nonemergency billing but will also require uninsured patients receive overviews of anticipated costs...
The new year brings a new surge of COVID-19, this time driven by the Omicron variant which researchers regard somewhat optimistically. Even still, schools are gearing up for a staff shortage as the governor and school administrators vow there won't be school closures. Additionally, the Arizona Department of Health Services released a...
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has released the second Arizona Diabetes Action Plan, which recommends statewide initiatives intended to ease the burden of diabetes on Arizonans.
According to Americas Health Rankings, In the United States, 34.1 million people – 13% of the population – are living with diabetes....
With a new year at hand, many nursing home and long-term care facility administrators and policy makers are now looking to use challenges faced and lessons learned during 2021 to fuel change in 2022. The change of the calendar has not brought an end to the staffing challenges facing such facilities, fueled by the lightning fast spread of...
Last week, the Biden administration issued a proposed rule aimed toward making it easier for consumers to find affordable, comprehensive health coverage in 2023. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) have released the details of the proposed rule, which includes reversals of several Trump-era policies.
Benefits Pro reports...
Centene has received federal and state regulator approval for its acquisition of Phoenix-based Magellan, which will bring 5.5 million new members in government-sponsored plans to the deal while operating independently under Centene's corporate umbrella as the insurer extends its market reach in specialty healthcare and pharmacy...
The acquisition of the 161-bed Arizona skilled nursing facility became effective January 1, 2022 and will be subject to a long-term, triple net lease.
Ensign's CEO Barry Port,
We are very excited to add to, and strengthen, our growing presence in the State of Arizona.This acquisition is a great fit within our existing...
The New Year brings with it lots of predictions. In the first week of 2022, reporting indicates health systems are eyeing opportunities in the outpatient sector as M&A transactions shrink and population health management is relying on sophisticated data analytics to improve patient outcomes in increasing ethnically diverse...
This year we witnessed hospitals and healthcare providers struggle during the worst pandemic of our lifetimes. In this annual data edition, The Hertel Report covers the business behind Arizona hospitals and health systems. Within this 16-page edition, readers can find information including size and scope, market footprint, profits,...
The federal public health emergency (PHE) due to the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire on January 16, 2022. Previously, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra extended the PHE during its prior three expirations under the Biden administration, but a lot of non-medical infrastructure for Medicaid...
Over the holiday weekend, the Omicron variant officially became the dominant form of COVID-19 in the United States, out-competing the Delta variant that held dominance since the summer. In response to holiday travel and increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, many Americans are seeking out rapid at-home COVID-19 tests, as well...
As the new year approaches, Arizona hospitals and healthcare professionals are gearing up for a new wave of COVID-19 patients to flood the intensive care units and emergency departments that have endured near-capacity numbers since the Delta variant took hold over the summer. Without respite from the prior wave and increased transmission...
The parcel adjacent to its campus in North Phoenix and the Arizona State University Health Futures Center is also billed as a way to jump start the development of a "Discovery Oasis" biotechnology corridor. It was purchased from the Arizona State Land Department at public auction on Dec. 15.
Mayo Clinic in Arizona is in the...
In 2021, nearly one in five healthcare workers left their jobs, exacerbating a crisis for the healthcare workforce at large that pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing workforce advocates warn that new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could worsen the crisis in the new year as hospitalizations due to...
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