Paula Blankenship – The Hertel Report

Paula Blankenship

Communications professional with two decades of award-winning work in journalism, corporate communications, promotional video, public relations and higher education. Always seeking opportunities to serve the public good.

Author's Posts

National News

CMS Releases The Interoperability and Patient Access Proposed Rule

On Monday, the agency proposed options to make patient data more useful and transferable through open, secure, standardized, and machine-readable formats while reducing restrictive burdens on healthcare providers. Its impact will be felt by Medicare...

Arizona News

Maricopa County Hot Spot for Measles Outbreak

The majority of parents in Arizona vaccinate their children, but vaccine coverage is eroding, said the Arizona Department of Health Services. In the 2017-2018 school year, 5.4 percent of kindergartners and 6th graders were missing one or more vaccinations. This puts those children, and those around them who can’t be vaccinated...

National News

2006 to 2017 Growth in Spending Per Enrollee Higher in Private Insurance Than Medicare & Medicaid

In 2017 health spending grew 4.8 percent year-over-year, the second consecutive year of deceleration in spending growth; from 2006 to 2017 growth in health spending per enrollee averaged 4.4 percent annually for the privately insured - Medicare averaged 2.4 percent and Medicaid, 1.6 percent, according to research from The Urban...

Arizona News

Arizona Legislators Show Support for Giving Clinical Nurse Specialists Prescribing Authority

Arizona's House Health & Human Services Committee unanimously passed HB2068, a bill sponsored by Republican Nancy Barto to allow CNSs prescribing authority in behavioral health inpatient facilities, recovery care centers and some outpatient treatment centers. The bill requires that a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) meet certain...

National News

Data Driven: Survey Says Most Healthcare CFOs Want Organizations to Do More

Providing data insights that drive operational changes and improve organizational agility in the midst of changing payment and delivery models requires confidence. A Kaufman Hall survey of healthcare executives charged with performance management representing more than 160 hospitals, health systems and organizations reveals insights of...

National News

It's Not Your Doctor Bill - Hospital Pricing Drives Healthcare Spending Growth for Privately Insured

According to a widely reported May 2018 study, "The Price Ain’t Right? Hospital Prices and Health Spending on the Privately Insured," researchers found hospital prices rather than physician charges drove healthcare spending growth for the privately insured. The authors of the study argue that because most healthcare pricing data...

Arizona News

Arizona Complete Health's Denial of $868,000 in Claims Leads to AHCCCS Sanction of $125,000

Arizona's Medicaid agency reported the insurer faced serious challenges with provider contracts, loads and claims payment after its migration of its provider network into a single database. According to the Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), the claims dashboard submitted by Arizona Complete Health (ACH) "underscores...

Arizona News

Rep. Nancy Barto, Chair of Arizona's House Health & Human Services Committee Speaks Out

A longtime leader on health issues in the Arizona legislature, Barto talked with the Sate of Reform about the issues she expects to be talking about this session. Here are a few excerpts from the interview with Rep. Barto who represents a portion of Northeastern Maricopa County. Her comments on new health insurance options, including...

Arizona News

Banner Health Plans More Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospitals

On Friday, January 15, 2019 the non-profit system broke ground on its first rehab hospital under a joint venture partnership agreement with Select Medical that includes new facilities in metro Phoenix, West Valley and East Valley. The new facility, Banner Rehabilitation Hospital – Phoenix, will cover 71,480 square-foot and three...

Arizona News

Northern Arizona Healthcare Lays Out Plans For $300M Strategic Plan

Expect facility renovations at Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) including an expanded trauma center and new off-site facilities across the region, including urgent care in the city's eastern region. Northern Arizona Healthcare's (NAH) "New Era Strategic Plan" is a three-year plan to spread funding across the NAH family including FMC,...

News

Mental Health Care Providers - The National Challenge of Interoperability in Integrated Care

Health Current, Arizona's health information exchange (HIE) met the challenge early. Beginning in 2016, the state's three regional behavioral health authorities (RBHAs) joined and now nearly 80 behavioral health providers in the state are connected as HIE participants. This week The Bipartisan Policy Center released the paper,...

Arizona Comings & Goings

New Chief Information Officer Joins Banner Health

Deanna Wise joined Arizona's largest healthcare system on January 28, she previously was the CIO for Dignity Health. According to the Banner, Wise will oversee the development and implementation of key technologies and strategies within the organization's information technology division. She joins Banner's executive...

Arizona News

Arizona MA January 2019 Enrollment Numbers Up 6%

In a competitive field, UnitedHealthcare Pacificare (AARP) retains its lead following the Medicare Advantage open enrollment period that closed December 7, 2018 for the 2019 plan year. CMS released January 2019 enrollments - MA enrollment in Arizona rose to 513,744, a 6% increase. This marks the first time Arizona has gone over the...

National News

CMS Announces Two New Voluntary Models For Medicare Advantage

The agency's Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced updates to the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model along with a brand new Part D Payment Modernization Model. The VBID model was launched in 2017, the update announced last Friday is designed to further reduce Medicare costs, enhance the quality of care...

Arizona News

The Hertel Report January Newsletter is Here!

Our January Newsletter features the Top 10 stories of 2018 selected by our members. The collection is based on our top news posts of the year and is designed to provide our members with a comprehensive rearview look at the big healthcare stories impacting the Arizona market in...

Arizona News

CMS Approves AHCCCS Work Requirements & Retroactive Coverage Change

On Friday, January 18, The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) received 1115 Waiver Amendment approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to begin implementing work requirements next year - the move is predicted to impact about 120,000 able bodied AHCCCS members ages 19 to 49; beginning April 2019...

National News

UnitedHealth Group 2018 Earnings of $226B Boosted by $100B in Optum Revenue

The healthcare giant which operates UnitedHealthcare and Optum thinks 2019 will be even better, projecting annual revenues of more than $240 billion. UnitedHealthGroup's Q4 earning report was released Jan. 15 and showed a 12 percent year-over-year growth in revenue, not a surprise it grew by 2.4 million lives and continues its reign...

National News

The Return of Medicaid Block Grants, Trump Administration's Plan to Bypass Congress

Sources tell The Wall Street Journal that the administration is quietly designing new guidelines to overhaul Medicaid using the state waiver process. The plan is to expand the waiver process available to state Medicaid programs to include block grant funding, a long favored approach by Republicans to curb federal spending, which funds...

Data Resources

JAMA: Medical Marketing in the United States, 1997-2016

Research from the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that in the past 20 years medical marketing has soared with spending increasing from $17.7 to $29.9 billion. Direct to consumer ads (DTC) for Rx and healthcare services led the surge in growth while Rx marketing to healthcare professionals made up the majority of...

Arizona News

MSSP ACOs Get February 19 Application Deadline - Two Months After Final Rule Changes

Critics say the quick turnaround for applications after the program's recent overhaul to greater risk is cause for concern and are advocating CMS extend its application window and push back the deadline. The National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) and America's Physician Groups (APG) both complain ACOs are still responding to the...

Page 1 of 15312 3 ...