Anthony Wallace

Freelance Writer and student at Arizona State University - Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Master of Mass Communication - Health Journalism

Author's Posts

The Fight Against COVID-19 Misinformation  National News

The Fight Against COVID-19 Misinformation 

As America struggles to reach herd immunity and increase its vaccination rate, government officials, health experts, and tech companies are taking aim at COVID-19 misinformation.  In light of the COVID-19 vaccine being made available to children ages 5-11, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a Community Toolkit for...
National News

New CMS ESRD Rule Aimed at Disparities

The Biden administration has been outspoken about addressing health disparities, and CMS says it’s taking action on that front with its newly released end stage renal disease (ESRD) payment rule. The newly finalized rule will go into effect January 2022.  The rule places an emphasis on equity with updates to the ESRD Treatment...
Telemedicine-Centric Insurance Plans on the Rise News

Telemedicine-Centric Insurance Plans on the Rise

In the wake of a pandemic that forcibly accelerated the adoption of telemedicine, insurers are starting to offer virtual-first plans at lower costs and they are being met with both enthusiasm and concern. Some of the biggest players in health insurance—Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Kaiser Permanente—have started offering...
National News

Hospital M&As: Pandemic Lifeline or Anticompetitive Money Grab?

The pandemic put a damper on merger and acquisition (M&A) activity among hospitals. Now, looking forward, the question is whether such activity is a lifeline for a reeling industry or a greedy practice bad for everyday patients.  The consulting firm Ernst & Young’s (EY) Global Capital Barometer found global M&A...
News

White Paper: ACOs 'Uniquely Poised' to Address Racial Health Inequities

In light of a pandemic which dramatically exposed serious racial health inequities in the U.S., researchers and healthcare providers are working to better understand this complex problem and begin the daunting task of solving it. This week, Kaiser Health News published an interview with Dr. Paula Braveman, director of the Center...
Open

Keeping Arizona Nephrology Patients & Revenue Close to Home

Thanks to a partnership with Dr. Mandeep Sahani, a Phoenix-based nephrologist with Desert Kidney Associates, patients in Globe, AZ and surrounding areas in immediate need of dialysis don’t have to travel by helicopter or ambulance to Phoenix. Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center CEO Neal Jensen, Overall, it’s been nothing but a...
News

CMS Aggressively Pushing ACA Marketplace Enrollment

In another showing of the Biden-Harris administration’s robust support of the ACA, CMS is launching an ambitious ad campaign to encourage Americans to enroll in ACA Marketplace coverage before the Special Enrollment Period expires August 15.  The “Summer Sprint to Coverage” campaign will feature testimonial advertisements...
News

New CMS ESRD Rules Emphasize Disparities, In-Home Dialysis

CMS is continuing its focus on health disparities with a new proposal to update its various models and payment rates for End-Stage Renal Disease. Announced last week, the proposal would have CMS pay $8.9 billion to ESRD facilities for dialysis services in 2022, a 1.2% increase from 2021. The base payment rate will increase by...
National News

CMS Proposes Expanded ACA Enrollment

Fresh off the Affordable Care Act's victory in the Supreme Court, CMS has proposed rule changes that would continue to bolster the ACA and ostensibly increase Americans' access to health insurance.  The proposals include lengthening the annual enrollment period for 2022 by 30 days, creating a new special enrollment period for...
ACA Survives the Supreme Court Again National News

ACA Survives the Supreme Court Again

The Supreme Court voted 7-2 last week to uphold the Affordable Care Act, putting to rest a lawsuit many saw as an existential threat to the law which now ensures health coverage for over 30 million Americans. The Court did not consider whether the individual mandate is constitutional or severable from the rest of the ACA, but rather...
National News

Pandemic Spurs Record Medicaid Enrollment: 80 Million

This week, HHS announced that a record 80 million Americans have health insurance through either Medicaid or CHIP. That number increased by 10 million, or 14%, during the pandemic.  HHS attributed the fast growth in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provided states with extra...
More Americans Than Ever Enrolled Through ACA National News

More Americans Than Ever Enrolled Through ACA

Last week, HHS announced that a record 31 million Americans have health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act. That number accounts for those with ACA Marketplace plans and those who are covered as a result of Medicaid expansion.  HHS also pointed out that the uninsured rate has declined in every state since the ACA was put...
National News

Nursing Homes Continue Battling COVID-19, Look to Future

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a nightmare for nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). And while it has improved things dramatically, the vaccine has been far from a panacea for these facilities—and their employees, occupants, and occupants' family members.  COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes have slowed...
National News

New Analysis: MA Beneficiaries Cheaper and Healthier than FFS

Better Medicare Alliance (BMA) this week released their annual “State of Medicare Advantage” report, which, in their words, shows “near-universal satisfaction, greater consumer savings, and better health outcomes in Medicare Advantage, as compared to Traditional FFS Medicare.”  It reveals there are now 26 million...
Focus on Structural Racism and Healthcare National News

Focus on Structural Racism and Healthcare

As the healthcare world continues to focus on social determinants of health and racial health disparities, researchers are connecting the dots, showing how societal forces of discrimination contribute to unequal health outcomes.  The journal Ethnicity & Disease recently released an extensive, multi-faceted analysis of the...
Arizona News

ACA Update: CMS Lowers Out-of-Pocket Costs, Expands SEP Access

As the Affordable Care Act’s Special Enrollment Period (SEP) rolls along, the Biden Administration is continuing its mission to expand ACA plan access and affordability.   Last week, CMS announced a number of 2022 ACA Marketplace Plan changes, according to its press release, “to protect and build on the Affordable Care Act,...
News

The Future of Telemedicine Post-Pandemic

Last March, the American healthcare system scrambled to adopt telemedicine out of necessity. And now, as patients and providers have taken a liking to its convenience and efficiency, the industry looks toward establishing the post-pandemic telemedicine landscape. During the pandemic, Medicare expanded access to telehealth for...
Arizona News

ACA Update: Enrollment Surging, 'Family Glitch' in Arizona Persists

We are in the midst of an Affordable Care Act Special Enrollment Period (SEP), which began Feb. 15 and will run through Aug. 15. According to a new CMS report, as of Mar. 31, over 500,000 Americans enrolled in health insurance during the SEP. For context, in the same period of 2019 and 2020, 209,000 and 171,000 people signed up for...
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