Last week, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the topic of "cracking down on deceptive practices" related to the advertisement of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
The hearing covered a long list of issues with third-party marketers who represent MA plans, including allegations of false information, harassment, switching...
Rural hospitals experience unique issues as providers across the medical industry, and specifically in regards to Medicare Advantage (MA). Plan availability, the structure of available plans, and difficulties with processing payments are all reasons rural health systems are increasingly fighting MA.
A new study by Milliman highlights...
A group of 12 Democratic State Attorneys including Arizona's Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit last Thursday asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove prescription and dispensation restrictions on mifepristone.
The attorneys general argue that removing the FDA restrictions would increase access to...
The American Hospital Association (AHA) ran a survey of 300 hospitals and health systems to determine the overall impact of cuts made to the 340B prescription drug pricing program. It found an enormous financial impact on struggling hospitals, specifically those in rural and underserved areas.
The 340B drug pricing program requires...
Rural hospitals and health systems have an outsized impact on the health and economic well-being of rural communities supporting one in every 12 rural jobs in America. A September report from the American Hospital Association poses solutions to preserve care in local communities.
The report considers the vital role of rural hospitals,...National News
On June 30, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a new provider type developed for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and certain rural hospitals to help them avert potential closure and provide support for the essential services they provide to the communities they serve.
A Rural Emergency Hospital ...Arizona News
Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital in Green Valley, Arizona will close on June 30. Hospital CEO Steve Harris announced that the decision comes after the hospital was unable to secure staffing for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
According to Becker's Hospital CFO Report, the hospital issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining...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...
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...
The state of Arizona reported 2,106 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, September 22. There were 74 new COVID-related deaths. In hospitals, 31% of adult intensive care unit (ICU) beds are currently in use by COVID-19 patients and statewide, only 9% of adult ICU beds remain available, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services...
Thanks to a partnership with Dr. Mandeep Sahani, a Phoenix-based nephrologist with Desert Kidney Associates, patients in Globe, AZ and surrounding areas in immediate need of dialysis don’t have to travel by helicopter or ambulance to Phoenix.
Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center CEO Neal Jensen,
Overall, it’s been nothing but a...CMS Rules
On Sunday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued two proposed rules for inpatient and long-term care hospitals. The first aims to fund medical residency positions in hospitals in rural and underserved communities in order to address workforce shortages in those areas and would require hospitals to report COVID-19...
There were 742 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Arizona on May 5, bringing the state total to 866,022 since testing began. There were 5 new deaths and the total is now 17,360. Intensive care unit beds are 11% occupied by COVID-19 patients and 15% of beds remain available.
This information comes from the Arizona Department of Health...
Resources in Indian country in the Southwestern United States are being tested to their fullest extent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Navajo Nation, which stretches across the Northeastern corner of Arizona, reports 322 cases of coronavirus and rising, and the along with other rural Arizona communities, it lacks the resources...Arizona News
Safety net hospitals are set to be the winners from the new Medicaid reimbursement rules under the Hospitals Readmissions Reduction Program that categorizes hospitals into five groups based on the percentage of a hospital’s patient population participating in dual enrollment of Medicare and Medicaid.
A new study, published in...National News
A CBS News investigation found some rural hospitals have become hugely profitable because insurance providers reimburse them at much higher rates. These out-of-the-way hospitals have become gold mines for enterprising health care executives looking for a way to quietly make a quick buck.
The investigation reveals how an attorney in...National News
Published in Health Affairs this week, authors test a theory that Medicaid expansion prevents hospital closures.
Hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act were about six times less likely to close than hospitals in non-expansion states. In AHA Today, we learn Medicaid expansion was associated with...National News
80 rural hospitals have closed since 2010.
Attempting to adapt by cutting services, pregnant women are put at risk.
Read about how care in rural hospitals is impacted in Reuters...