As millions of workers lose income through furloughs and wage cuts, COVID-19 may exacerbate the trend of employer-based health insurance becoming less affordable and premium contributions and deductibles taking up a larger share of household income.
The process needs to be made easier for workers and their families to enroll in...Arizona News
Arizona currently has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in the world. Hospitals continue to be overwhelmed as Governor Doug Ducey continues to take no statewide action to curb the outbreak, including heeding pleas from State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Hoffman to close schools for a few weeks. Health care providers and workers...National News
The Trump administration is still full-steam ahead on its end-of-term plans for health care policy. On December 31, President Trump extended pandemic-related ban on green cards and work visas to any applicants through March 31 and a federal appeals court upheld the rule that dictates any incoming immigrants must prove that they have...Arizona News
Arizona is setting new records for the COVID-19 pandemic and hospitals are in dire straits.
At time of publication the state has recorded 5,267 new cases and 78 new deaths. That brings the total state COVID-19 deaths to 8,718. Deaths reported today will be retroactively assigned to the actual date of death. The statewide total percent...National News
Spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic, startup payer Oscar has announced a major expansion of both its national presence and virtual healthcare.
Oscar Health has about 420,000 enrollees nationwide in 18 states, representing 211 counties, through three types of insurance plans: individual and family, small group and Medicare...Arizona News
On December 17, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an official health advisory as the U.S. experiences a surge in fatal drug overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the U.S. in the 12 months ending May 2020, with the largest spike after the COVID-19 public...Arizona News
The first COVID-19 vaccines have been shipped and are now in the process of being administered to frontline healthcare workers and other high-priority members of the public. Additionally, the first over-the-counter self-administered COVID-19 tests have passed Food and Drug Administration authorization and will now move to the...National News
Last week, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) met to present its draft recommendations for 2022 payment rules. Their implication: hospitals, physicians, hospices, outpatient dialysis centers, and ambulatory surgery centers will be just fine financially less than two years after the onset of the pandemic.
According to...Arizona News
Arizona-based healthcare firm, Redirect Health, is providing a cost-effective and efficient solution to healthcare for Canadian snowbirds and travelers visiting the U.S. as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to reach catastrophic heights.
According to Redirect Health, the new Canadian Snowbird program offers individuals...Arizona News
Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country. For an eighth year, Modern Healthcare has named Banner Health President and CEO Peter Fine among the 100 most influential people in healthcare.
The program, which has continued for 19 years, acknowledges and honors individuals...Arizona News
Arizona researchers are encouraging policy makers to enact strict orders in order to curb what may become a catastrophic burden on hospital capacities, but Governor Ducey and members of Congress have not yet heeded those suggestions. Additionally, long-term care facilities are reporting extremely high rates of illness and death among...Arizona News
Across the country, COVID-19 cases and subsequent hospitalizations are leaving hospitals short-staffed and without enough space to care for patients. In Arizona, in both cities and rural areas, these issues are no different, compounded by winter visitors to the state and general increase in hospitalizations due to seasonal...National News
Amid a pandemic that has caused people to avoid the hospital, health systems and hospitals are suffering financially. According to a Kaufman Hall report released this week, hospital operating margins have declined by 18.7% since the start of this year to the end of October.
The poor margins are driven by declining patient...Arizona News
As cases hit record highs nationwide and hospitals both local and national warn of looming overcrowding in intensive care units, local hospital officials are speaking out about travel for the holidays and individual responsibility. Meanwhile, there’s been significant progress on treatment and vaccine in the past couple weeks, and...Arizona News
At the start of the pandemic, 160 million people in America had insurance through their employers. The pandemic’s disruption to the economy resulted in a loss of coverage for an estimated 14.6 million workers and their dependents by June of this year.
Millions who still have employer benefits have lost wages and income, making...Arizona News
This week there’s good news and bad news in Arizona and across the country as COVID-19 positivity rates are on an uptick and experts openly predict a “dark winter”. The Navajo Nation and Pima County are reporting troubling spikes as ICU bed use steadily increases statewide. But new treatments are slowly becoming available and the...Arizona News
Racial and ethnic health disparities are rooted in inherited inequality and prejudice, with racial and ethnic minorities experiencing inequity in medical treatment and poor health outcomes.
Populations of vulnerable people both in the United States and internationally are more likely to experience more severe effects and higher...Arizona News
COVID-19 positivity rates are climbing nationwide and Arizona joined them this week with the worst recorded numbers in the state since the spike in June. Hospitals, schools and Governor Doug Ducey are all unified in stressing the importance of safety precautions at this time. A study shows that deaths from the virus are nearly double for...Arizona News
Cases of COVID-19 are still steadily climbing in Arizona and hospitals are starting to report increased numbers of hospitalizations in the midst of rampant ransomware attacks. Statewide preventative measures in June led the country in effectiveness, but Governor Doug Ducey is still showing no interest in reinstating similar policies....Arizona News
The Arizona Medicaid program had advanced $41 million in provider payments to address the COVID-19 emergency.
On Oct. 27, AHCCCS received federal approval from CMS to increase Arizona hospital reimbursement rates by more than 30%. The Hospital Enhanced Access Leading to Health Improvements Initiative (HEALTHII) will result in a net...