The Biden administration announced last Friday that it would make available $25.5 billion in provider relief funding to offset revenue loss and higher expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Fierce Healthcare, funding will be used for reimbursing smaller providers that generally operate on thin margins and to boost...
This week the number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 set a record with 1,900 pediatric cases in hospitals across the United States on Sunday night. The Delta variant's rapid spread is to blame, primarily among unvaccinated populations which include children under age 12.
Of all hospitalizations, children comprise just 2.4%...
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure bill which proponents say focuses on the administration's key priorities in addition to investment in roads, bridges, airports and waterways, for which $1 trillion was allotted. Immediately after passing with a thin majority, Democrats began discussing budget...Open
Cases are on an exponential increase in Arizona, according to experts. On Wednesday, August 4, there were 2,286 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the state and seven new deaths. The total number of cases is now 935,647 and 18,289 people have died from the virus in Arizona. Total vaccinations are very slowly increasing, with 52.7% of...CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a new rule last week that would impose higher penalties for large hospitals that fail to comply with price transparency rules.
From U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra:
With today's proposed rule, we are simply showing hospitals through...National News
Last Friday, President Joe Biden issued a broad-sweeping executive order to address issues of corporate consolidation across U.S. industries. One of the industries cited was hospitals, drawing criticism for "misguided intentions" from industry stakeholders.
President Biden directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...
Cases of COVID-19 are on the rise again in Arizona as the Delta variant continues to spread. On Wednesday, there were 1,945 new cases reported and 21 new deaths. Just half, 50.7% of Arizonans are now vaccinated. Intensive care unit bed usage by COVID-19 patients is rising, now at 11% from 8% last week and 13% of ICU beds remain...
On Wednesday, Arizona reported 433 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 885,042 since recording cases began. There were two new deaths, creating a pandemic total to date of 17,715. Nearly half (47.5%) of eligible Arizonans are now fully vaccinated and 42.8% of Americans nationwide. Intensive care unit beds in Arizona are 9%...
Last week, HHS announced that a record 31 million Americans have health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act. That number accounts for those with ACA Marketplace plans and those who are covered as a result of Medicaid expansion.
HHS also pointed out that the uninsured rate has declined in every state since the ACA was put...
Last Friday, President Joe Biden revealed his $6 trillion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2022. As anticipated, the president focuses on infrastructure, but unlike his predecessors includes big increases in health care spending as part of that infrastructure.
Most notably, the proposal includes a 23% increase for the U.S. Department...National News
Last week, Senator Patty Murray (D., Wash.) and Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D., N.J.) released a letter asking for stakeholder input on a potential federal public health insurance option, commonly known as the public option. The request comes just as President Joe Biden unveiled his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022 in which he...National News
President Joe Biden gave a public address to Congress last Wednesday and highlighted a number of items in his healthcare agenda, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and drug prices. The Biden administration has also signaled that it intends to begin work on banning menthol cigarettes.
One major highlight of the president's speech...
About 44% of the country has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 32.3% of the population is fully vaccinated. In Arizona, 5,163,900 doses have been administered and 2,982,692 people have received at least one dose, meaning that 41.5% of the state has been vaccinated.
This information comes from the Centers for...
Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment has continued to climb consistently year-over-year and 2021 is no different. Nationally, 42% of Medicare eligible beneficiaries are currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, which is up from 32% five years ago.
The Chartis Group released a report on key trends regarding national MA enrollment,...Arizona News
In the United States, 80.5 million doses have been given and 2.01 million doses are being administered per day. In Arizona, nearly 18% of the population has received at least one shot. The state has continued to ramp up its efficiency in administering doses, closing the gap to 80% of doses received being put to use. This means that of...News
Arizona is hitting roughly 100,000 vaccinations every three days. According to the Bloomberg COVID-19 vaccination tracker, 7 out of every 100 Arizonans has now been vaccinated with 53% of the doses delivered to the state used or 518,000 of 990,000 total doses.
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) sent out a press release...
