Last week, President Joe Biden announced that he would roll back a controversial Trump-era rule that would have required green card applicants and other immigrants to demonstrate that they would have health insurance upon arrival to the U.S. The so-called "public charge" rule would have allowed the government to deny visa applications if...Open
There were only two new COVID-19 related deaths reported in Arizona on Wednesday, and 469 new cases. The total number of Arizona deaths attributed to COVID-19 is 17,430 and there are 870,624 cases now reported in Arizona with 11% of intensive care unit beds in use by COVID-19 patients, 14% of ICU beds are available.
This information...Arizona News
There were 649 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Arizona Wednesday, bringing the state total to 855,804. Six new deaths were reported, and will be retroactively reassigned to the dates on which the deaths took place. COVID-19 patients occupy 10% of intensive care unit beds and 14% of available hospital beds.
This information comes...National News
Health inequities result from circumstances stemming from socioeconomic status, living conditions and other social, geographical and environmental determinants that are modifiable.
These actions have been made even more urgent by the disparities identified early in the COVID-19 pandemic as data show significant variances in the rate...CMS Rules
Provider groups aren't too worried about the 2% Medicare payment cut that is scheduled to go back into effect on April 1st after being paused for the COVID-19 pandemic. The cuts originally went into effect in 2013 and were paused to protect providers like hospitals and doctor groups that are now confident that the cuts will continue to...Arizona News
As of February 24, the number of COVID-19 cases in Arizona has reached 811, 968 with 1,310 new cases being reported today. There were 43 new deaths reported today, bringing the state total to 15,693. The deaths reported today will be reassigned to the date the deaths occurred.
The total percent positive rests at 14.2%. Intensive Care...National News
As the Medicare Advantage (MA) open enrollment period is underway, some studies are indicating the reasons for the popularity of the MA program and the ways in which enrollees navigate between plans. Additionally, studies show that the Medicare program is likely underpaying hospitals for care provided to beneficiaries.
Data from the...Arizona News
As the Biden Administration prepared for its new role leading U.S. health policy and Arizona became the new national poster child for the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, political lines were drawn and Governor Ducey listed his budget priorities.
Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator...CMS Rules
On Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services may continue with the hospital price transparency rule on January 1. The American Hospital Association requested an injunction against the 2019 final rule that will require hospitals to make their standard...CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a new rule to streamline prior authorizations and improve electronic healthcare data transfers between doctors, patients and insurance companies. The rule will require payers involved in certain government programs to build apps for the purpose of this exchange and prior...News
According to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), enrollment in private health insurance plans remained concentrated among a small number of issuers across the country, including in Arizona.
Several companies may be selling health insurance in a given market but most people usually enroll with one of a...National News
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced this week that it will not update hospital quality star ratings in January. The five-star quality rating system is usually updated annually, but this year the agency needs more time to review public comments and finalize changes to the star ratings calculations.
The rating...Arizona News
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the finalization of a rule this week that will require insurers to inform potential consumers of costs for tests and procedures. The goal, according to the Trump administration, is price transparency for patients rather than political gains.
From Health and Human...National News
A new study by the RAND Corporation shows that hospitals are charging private insurance over twice as much as they get from Medicare's reimbursement rates for the exact same care. There are many indications that this gap is steadily increasing.
The gap itself isn't particularly new, but the growing gap between Medicare and private...Arizona News
The Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule, which was announced in November last year, would have transformed federal supplemental payment programs under Medicaid. This week Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma announced in a tweet that the rule would be removed.
We’ve listened closely to...National News
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are moving to reject 340B discounts through pharmacies and are demanding more data on the program’s efficacy.
Much to the chagrin of hospitals nationwide that have become accustomed to the 340B program, the drug companies are testing the limits of their abilities to challenge regulation...Arizona News
On Monday, an HHS spokesman confirmed that the department will extend the national public health emergency for COVID-19 that would otherwise expire on July 25th. The announcement comes as Arizona activates surge plans but resists enacting a full second shutdown of businesses in the state.
Health and Human Services spokesman...Arizona News
Earlier this month, HHS repealed protections for transgender individuals seeking medical care and three days later, the United States Supreme Court delivered a ruling defending LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace under Title VII.
These two major changes in how the law impacts care for sexual and reproductive health...Arizona News
Last week Arizona hit a new high when for the first time, more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported in one day.
On June 19 the American Hospital Association (AHA) called on The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend the public health emergency declaration set to expire on July 25 until testing capacity...National News
The American Hospital Association (AHA), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), America's Essential Hospitals, 340B Health, Genesis Healthcare System, Kearny County Hospital and Rutland Regional Medical Center asked a federal court to order the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) to make effective within 30 days...
