Facilities that care and house large numbers of elderly folks are being ravaged by COVID-19 - an incredibly contagious virus particularly deadly for older people.
Just 6.7% of Americans are over 75-years-old, but that population accounts for nearly 60% of the country’s COVID deaths.
According to the Maricopa County...
Up to 80% of Arizona’s children are not seeing a pediatrician right now, a dangerous trend that creates health risks for families and communities.
According to findings released last week by the Arizona chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Covid-19 pandemic has derailed immunization schedules and denied children...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expecting to launch a nationwide study in June or July to track how coronavirus is spreading across the U.S. The initiative will test samples from blood donors for antibodies in 25 metropolitan areas.
The agency plans to test samples from 1,000 donors in each metropolitan area...Arizona News
As Arizona prepares to reopen, precautions against a second surge hinge entirely upon testing and tracking the virus in order to contain its spread. In long term care facilities specifically, testing is critical to protect the elderly and vulnerable from contracting COVID-19 and spreading it within the care facility.
On Tuesday,...Arizona News
On Tuesday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced the reopening of businesses and places of worship, and also reinforced safety protocols for skilled nursing facilities. In addition to a push for testing, patient visitation is still prohibited and staff and visitors are required to be screened before all visits.
According to the...CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final payment notice for 2021 last week as the Trump administration finalized a string of regulatory changes to Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. The agency's rule outlines ACA plan regulations that impact qualified health plans (QHP) for the 2021 coverage...National News
COVID-19 has rapidly changed the way healthcare looks in America, and Medicare Advantage is caught in the heart of the storm.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation, enrollment in MA plans more than doubled in the last decade, from 11.1 to 24.1 million. But now, the pandemic poses a particular threat to MA’s beneficiaries,...Arizona News
After weeks in 51st place for testing nationally after every other state and the District of Columbia, Arizona began a “testing blitz” that took place across the state last Saturday. Despite the statewide goal of 20,000 tests, the testing sites reported low turnout numbers in some places and in others, patients were turned...National News
Last week after weeks of neglect from the federal government as well as grant qualification issues, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar requesting relief for providers who are neither Medicare...Arizona News
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed an increase in 2021 Medicare payments to inpatient rehab facilities (IFRs) by $270 million. The proposal also included a suggested 5% cap on wage index decreases.
Medicare spent approximately $8 billion on IRF care for beneficiaries -...Arizona News
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of healthcare as we know it. As in-person visits become in many cases impossible, the role of telemedicine has become essential.
In Arizona and elsewhere, healthcare providers are turning to technology to deliver care at a distance like never before.
Dr. Ateev Mehrotra, an...Arizona News
This Tuesday, Arizona announced that it intends to provide antibody testing for the coronavirus to 250,000 people in the state. The University of Arizona said that it would process blood tests for people who have been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 and have successfully built an immunity. The state plans to prioritize...National News
A new bill from Congressional Democrats seeks to increase subsidies for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and ostensibly provide relief to workers who have lost their jobs and potentially their health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill, called the Worker Health Coverage Protection Act, is...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...Arizona News
Last week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with the Department of Labor and the Treasury Department released guidelines for health insurers to cover diagnostic testing for COVID-19.
This news comes on the heels of a request from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and Blue Cross Blue Shield for relief for...Arizona News
The coronavirus outbreak has profoundly impacted the facilities who care for those most vulnerable to it: nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities (SNF).
This week, AZCentral reported that SNF residents currently account for nearly half of Maricopa and Pima Counties’ COVID-19 deaths. According to a Maricopa County...Arizona News
Regional, rural hospitals across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic are warning of the financial difficulties associated with maintaining the demands of the crisis while losing revenue from other sources.
Hospitals South of Tucson are already signaling they will require financial relief if they are to remain open and...National News
Last week, the health insurance marketplace for the state of California released an actuarial brief projecting that testing and treatment COVID-19 costs for the national commercial medical market could range from $34 billion to $251 billion; projections also include premium increases to individuals and employers ranging from 4% to...Arizona News
According to data tracking by the Arizona Department of Health Services and Maricopa County Department of Public Health, the vast majority of patients testing positive for the coronavirus are under the age of 65, with an equal number of hospitalized patients under the age of 65 as over. As of April 1st, 79 people are hospitalized with...Arizona News
This week, four major insurers announced plans to alleviate financial burdens on patients for COVID-19 treatments.
In addition to sweeping pledges made by most companies to waive bills for coronavirus testing two weeks ago, Cigna, Humana, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare (UHC) introduced plans that would waive consumer costs entirely or...
