The analysis focuses on the top 25 brand-name drugs with the highest total 2022 Medicare Part D spending and doesn't include Part D drugs selected for Medicare drug price negotiation.According to the January report, on average, more than 40% of the current list prices for the top 25 drugs is due to price increases after the drugs first...
The Biden administration finalized federal staffing requirements for nursing homes on Monday. The rule requires a registered nurse be on site 24 hours a day and enough staff to provide each patient with 3.48 hours of care per day which is higher than was originally proposed.
For facilities with 100 residents, this equates to a minimum...
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed a massive executive order aimed at senior care, long-term care facilities and home caregiving. The order also included provisions for child care and early childhood education.
The long-term care sector has struggled with workforce shortages that predate the COVID-19 pandemic but were exacerbated...
The super transmissible COVID-19 variant XBB.1.5 has made it to Arizona and new data from AARP demonstrates that vaccination levels in nursing homes remain troublingly low.
The presence of XBB.1.5 in Arizona is still low, but throughout the pandemic surges related to certain variants have hit Arizona slower than other states, the...
Last week, the U.S. Senate passed bipartisan legislation to expand veterans' health care eligibility for those exposed to toxic substances and burn pits. The bill would account for one of the largest expansions of healthcare benefits in Veterans Affairs history.
KNAU reports that the bill is backed by Arizona Senators Kyrsten Sinema...
Last Thursday, the Social Security and Medicare boards of trustees released their annual reports on each program and reported that the economic recovery was much stronger than anticipated following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, both programs will still face long-term concerns that could reduce retirement benefits and reduce...
As Arizona approaches the two-year mark from Governor Doug Ducey's March 30, 2020 executive order mandating the closure of certain businesses and a stay-at-home advisory for all Arizonans, the Arizona Republic reflects on what has happened in those two years of the public health emergency. Following three major surges of COVID-19 in just...
A recently released analysis estimates federal (MA) overpayments between 2010 and 2019 resulted from private plans' "inventing new ways to increase their enrollees' risk scores," just as sales of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans skyrocket and SCAN launches "Welcome Health" an independent primary care medical group that will deliver...
About 774,000 consumers took advantage of the first week of shopping for 2022 health coverage on the HealthCare.gov platform during the Open Enrollment Period (OEP) for qualified health plans (QHPs) as AARP and other stakeholders warn alternative health insurance options including fixed indemnity and short-term plans, and health care...News
According to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nursing aides are the most likely to interact with long-term care residents but are the industry's least likely workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Concerning Statistics
CDC researchers looked at data from 300 U.S. facilities and found that...Arizona News
Across the board, medical groups, hospitals and health care personnel are requesting institutional vaccination mandates for healthcare workers as the Delta variant spread increases case counts and hospitalizations nationwide.
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Nurses Association (ANA) were joined by 58 other...
The national push to increase vaccine supply, get it out the door faster, increase the number medical units and locations add up to more shots. AARP wants Arizona to put up the vaccination data for residents and staff in long-term care facilities to ensure the most vulnerable are being prioritized in the state; race and ethnic...Arizona News
A new lawsuit brought by AARP contends a CMS policy weakened enforcement of financial penalties for nursing homes and must be reversed to restore protections for nursing home residents.
The American Association of Retired Persons engaged the law firm Constance Cannon to file the lawsuit against CMS and outgoing HHS secretary Alex...Arizona News
In the midst of Arizona’s COVID-19 pandemic, it remains hard to adequately track the details of who is infected and predict the next hot spot. Slim testing data means extrapolations used by policy makers to implement precautions and preventions during the pandemic, can fall short.
Last week, the Arizona Department of Health...National News
The Trump administration has raised the volume on drug prices but while the court said it can't force manufactures to list their prices, Trump is expected to pen an executive order to tie Medicare drug prices to those of other countries.
Following the Fourth of July festivities, President Trump said he would be announcing something...Arizona News
The pharmaceutical companies on Capitol Hill rarely get the short-end of the stick, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the industry is lobbying for a provision to block the increase of the percentage of drug costs they must cover under Medicare.
Lawmakers are now considering to add measures that would ease the burden of drug...National News
A class-action lawsuit alleges diversion of $400 million a year in a Medigap premium rebate scheme that violates Connecticut law, breaches contract with enrollees and misleads consumers.
The suit, filed in a Connecticut U.S. District Court, alleges that UnitedHealth allows AARP to take a 4.9% rebate from monthly beneficiary...Arizona News
Southern Arizona foundations award nearly $3 million for end-of-life care and planning services to local organizations.
The Lovell Foundation and the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona partnered in funding to be used to work with families, couples and individuals to engage in end-of-life conversations through workshops,...
