This week in value-based care, CMMI director Elizabeth Fowler defends criticism of the ACO REACH payment model, CMS improves ACO quality care reporting and data aggregation, the White House moves to support a value-based program for skilled nursing facilities, FQHCs struggle to keep up with systemic transformation and MedPAC moves to...Arizona News
The White House is calling on Congress to act swiftly and pass another round of COVID-19 related funding, noting the consequences for testing, vaccination, boosters, monoclonal antibody treatments, surveillance and research in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic will be dire. This week, more than $5 million in Phase 4 Provider...Government
On Tuesday, March 15, President Joe Biden signed a $1.5 trillion spending bill that included a number of health-related provisions. This includes financial assistance for a biomedical research agency, an extension of Medicare telehealth waivers and funding to address concerns regarding maternal mortality.
Notably, House Speaker...
Arizona officially has the distinction of ranking second nationally for COVID deaths per capita, currently trailing Mississippi. The state has now surpassed 26,000 COVID-19 deaths and is averaging nearly 14,000 new cases per day. On Wednesday, there were 24 new COVID-19 related deaths and 8,329 new cases reported.
This information...
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden revived his "cancer moonshot" initiative that he personally headed during the Obama administration and promised to pursue as part of his 2020 presidential campaign platform. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) told reporters that the Build Back Better Act is dead as Congress moves to push through some of the...
The U.S. is now reporting over one million new cases of COVID-19 per day as a result of the surge caused by the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. As cases spike, the federal government has been slow to act as quickly as in prior surges, motivating healthcare industry workers and the public to criticize the response.
Vaccine boosters...
In 2021, nearly one in five healthcare workers left their jobs, exacerbating a crisis for the healthcare workforce at large that pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing workforce advocates warn that new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could worsen the crisis in the new year as hospitalizations due to...
Following months of tense negotiations between moderate Congressional Democrats and the White House, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) ended any hopes for passing President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Bill on Sunday. This leaves many of the sorely needed healthcare spending and reform initiatives in limbo, although some Democrats hope to pass...Arizona News
On Monday, the White House announced an executive order (EO) directed at easing the "customer experience" of interacting with federally regulated public programs. The order directs certain federal agencies to make it easier for individuals to apply for and receive benefits, specifically through telehealth services, a personalized web...Arizona News
The Build Back Better Act (BBB) will be reviewed by Democrats in the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committees this week, ahead of formal negotiations with the Senate parliamentarian over the "Byrd bath," a bipartisan meeting in which items from the budget reconciliation bill that do not directly impact...National News
Cases are on a slow uptick nationwide with new cases on Tuesday, November 23 totaling 92,785. The rolling seven-day average for new cases is 95,481. There were 1,474 new deaths nationally and the total number of deaths nationally is now over 775,000. About 70% of the country has received at least one dose of the vaccine and just under...National News
Last Friday, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, the massive social and climate spending bill that carries the promises of the Biden presidential platform. After several months of negotiations between democrats and revisions in the plan for how the bill would get passed, the bill is considerably smaller and...
The COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for distribution in children as Pfizer now moves to request authorization from the Food and Drug Administration to recommend booster shots for all adults six months after vaccination. Meanwhile, the vaccine mandate has ruffled feathers of both big businesses and conservative leadership at the state...
After months of negotiations, the Build Back Better Act is taking form as a bill that appeases the concerns of most Congressional Democrats, including holdouts like Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). The bill will now include a number of healthcare-related solutions and improvements to public health insurance programs...National News
Prescription drug price negotiations have been a major policy proposal for Congressional Democrats looking to improve the outcome of negotiations surrounding President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda in the form of the Reconciliation Bill. Initially, the president and Democratic leadership aimed to expand the ability for the...Arizona News
President Joe Biden's spending package, including a massive infrastructure bill and budget reconciliation bill that initially would have cost $3.5 trillion, is being whittled down to $1.9 or even $1.75 trillion total, and healthcare programs are on the chopping block.
The president informed House progressives on Tuesday that...Arizona News
On Tuesday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it would intervene in three states, including Arizona, revoking their authority to regulate workplace safety. This announcement comes as Governor Doug Ducey's administration is embroiled in an ongoing legal battle with the federal government over the use of...National News
This week, Congressional Democrats are sparring amongst themselves to bring President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill to a vote and the most public figure against the package as it stands now is Arizona's own Senator Kyrsten Sinema. What she wants is unclear, but what's in the balance includes closing a Medicaid loop hole and expansion...
On Wednesday, September 29, there were 3,388 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Arizona and 39 new COVID-19-related deaths. Deaths are reported by actual date of death. For intensive care unit beds, only 8% remain available statewide, with 30% of ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.
This information can be found on the Arizona...
Last Thursday, President Joe Biden announced new vaccine requirements for the American public, mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for 100 million Americans including all healthcare workers.
The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) has been directed to develop a rule that will require all employers...
