An Arizona-based organization of doctors sued the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the federally imposed limitations on prescribing hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine to patients as a COVID-19 preventative. In April, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey also set similar restrictions until the drug is shown by medical study to be an...Arizona News
Arizona’s state health officials urge hospitals to fully activate emergency plans to cope with a surge of COVID-19 patients.
Hospitals in Arizona are seeing a sharp increase in patients and emergency-room visits. Last week marked the largest week-to-week increase of coronavirus cases in both Arizona and Pima County since the...Arizona News
On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced funding relief for providers that rely exclusively on Medicaid reimbursements following months of pleading by providers, industry professionals and politicians.
Organizations like the American Hospital Association, America’s Essential Hospitals and the American Health...Arizona News
Arizona hospitalizations of patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 have hit a new record and the state's largest health system has reached capacity for patients needing external lung machines.
As of Friday statewide hospitalizations jumped to 1,278 inpatients in Arizona with suspected and confirmed COVID-19, which was a...Arizona News
A study published on May 28 on the JAMA Network demonstrated the issues with prescription drug and medical equipment distribution challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following support for the drug by President Donald Trump on March 19, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, drugs which are usually used to treat illnesses such as...Arizona News
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the full data of its COVID-19 survey of nursing facilities in the United States on Thursday. CMS cautioned against taking the data too literally as there was incomplete reporting from many care facilities, but did stress that there was certain information to be gleaned from...CMS Rules
In response to the coronavirus, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) granted a special enrollment period (SEP) for Medicare beneficiaries through the end of June, giving Part D, Medicare Advantage and Medigap insurers an additional sales window. The SEP applies to those who were unable to enroll due to the pandemic....Arizona News
On Monday, CMS released federal data on COVID-19 cases in nursing homes in addition to updated accountability measures.
The full data on nursing homes is expected to drop later this week, which is crucial for public reporting since an Arizona court ruled the state does not have to publicly release which nursing homes are...Arizona News
As of June 1st, Arizona has identified 20,123 cases of COVID-19 and 917 deaths. On Tuesday, June 2, the state reported 1,127 new infections of the novel virus, the highest number reported in a single day since the outbreak began.
The state's total number of reported positive COVID-19 cases jumped 4.2% on Saturday, signaling the...Arizona News
The Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona received a financial boost for assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic just as rates for new cases started to decline. The Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would grant half a billion dollars to the Indian Health Service and teams from two medical organizations were...Arizona News
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 -...
