Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

The Top Three...

With so much going on, if you can only read three things about health policy this week, I suggest...

AP: US Deaths From COVID Hit 1 Million, Less Than 2 1/2 Years In The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million on Monday, a once-unimaginable figure that only hints at the multitudes of loved ones and friends staggered by grief and frustration. The confirmed number of dead is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 336 days. It is roughly equal to how many Americans died in the Civil War and World War II combined. It’s as if Boston and Pittsburgh were wiped out. (Johnson, 5/16)

Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Relief Stabilized Hospital Finances In 2020, Study Finds Federal relief buoyed hospital finances during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic even though hospital operations took a hit, according to a study published in JAMA Health Forum Friday. The pandemic created unforeseen challenges for the healthcare system, including hospitals canceling elective procedures and patients postponing care. At the same time, costs rose. While the average operating margin suffered in 2020, the average profit margin was similar to previous years, Johns Hopkins University researchers found. (Berryman, 5/16)

The New York Times: Biden Invokes Defense Powers In A Bid To Ease Formula Shortage President Biden took urgent action on Wednesday to address the nationwide baby formula shortage, invoking the Defense Production Act to increase production and creating “Operation Fly Formula” to deploy Defense Department planes and speed formula shipments into the United States from overseas. The moves are Mr. Biden’s first major initiative to respond to a crisis that has sown fear and frustration among parents across the country and prompted Republicans and Democrats alike to demand action. (Karni and Cochrane, 5/18)

For a Deeper Dive...

Modern Healthcare: Employer Health Plans Pay Hospitals 224% Of Medicare Employers continue to pay hospitals more than double the amount Medicare would pay for the same services, a new study shows. Private employer-sponsored health plans paid hospitals 224% of Medicare prices, on average, according to an updated RAND Corp. analysis of claims from 4,000 hospitals across every state except Maryland. Hospitals with higher market shares tended to have higher prices, according to the study, which supports past research. A 10% increase in hospital market share was associated with a 0.5% increase in a hospital's price relative to Medicare, researchers found. Still, some researchers noted that a 0.5% increase for a significant 10% boost in market share was relatively small. (Kacik, 5/17)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Launches Data Dashboard To Track Rising Drug Overdose Deaths In addition to an online COVID-19 data dashboard showing the seriousness of the pandemic, the state of Missouri has launched another public dashboard to track the increasing number of drug overdose deaths. Drug overdose has become the leading cause of death among Missouri adults age 18 to 44, state health officials say. More than 70% of the deaths involve opioids such as heroin and fentanyl. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services launched the new website late Tuesday at health.mo.gov/data/opioids. It provides data on fatal and nonfatal overdoses, where they occurred and their demographic characteristics. (Munz, 5/18)

AP: 2 More Bills Targeting COVID Rules Head To Ducey's Desk Two more bills restricting responses to the coronavirus pandemic are heading to [Arizona] Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk, including one that would impact the ability of future state leaders to respond to another airborne-spreading disease and a second blocking the state from ever requiring schoolchildren to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Tuesday’s state Senate votes were the latest moves by GOP lawmakers to limit what they have called government overreach. (Christie, 5/17)

CNBC: Americans Can Expect To Pay A Lot More For Medical Care In Retirement A 65-year-old couple retiring this year can expect to spend an average of $315,000 in health-care and medical expenses in their retirement, according to a new estimate by Fidelity Investments. That’s 5% higher than last year’s estimate. While much of the increase this year came from higher Medicare Part B premiums for Americans 65 and older, health-care costs are expected to remain elevated. “There’s a lot of upward cost pressure in the health-care system right now, due to investments that providers need to make to get ready for the next pandemic, due to issues around labor, particularly hospital nurses,” said Hope Manion, senior vice president and chief health and welfare actuary at Fidelity Investments. (Dhue and Epperson, 5/16)

KHN: No Prison Time For Tennessee Nurse Convicted Of Fatal Drug Error RaDonda Vaught, a former Tennessee nurse convicted of two felonies for a fatal drug error, whose trial became a rallying cry for nurses fearful of the criminalization of medical mistakes, will not be required to spend any time in prison. Davidson County criminal court Judge Jennifer Smith on Friday granted Vaught a judicial diversion, which means her conviction will be expunged if she completes a three-year probation. (Kelman, 5/13)

HealthcareDive: Nonprofit Hospitals Squeezed by Pricer Labor, Investment Losses in Q1 Nonprofit hospitals faced a tough first quarter with many reporting net losses amid escalating expenses for pricier labor and diminished investment returns. “This first quarter of the calendar year here is going to be just one of the worst for most of our providers,” Fitch Analyst Kevin Holloran said last week on a webinar. Fueled by the latest coronavirus variant, hospitals again were confronted with a January wave of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, which can crowd out elective procedures and cause patients to pause planned procedures. The need for labor was in high demand during the January surge, further increasing expenses year over year amid record inflation in the U.S. that has led to costlier goods and services.(Liss, 5/16)

Modern Healthcare: AMA-Led Collaboration Launches Care Equity And Quality Mentorship Program The American Medical Association, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Joint Commission are joining forces on a pilot program to help health systems integrate equity into care delivery, the groups said Thursday. The year-long mentorship and networking initiative, called Advancing Equity through Quality and Safety Peer Network, is meant to improve health outcomes for marginalized patient populations and work toward racial justice for staff and surrounding communities. Experts will work with health systems to remove social and structural barriers to patient-centered care. (Devereaux, 5/19)

For the Visual Among Us...