Three webinars held in January on the new accreditation regulations have been archived. The webinars cover state authorization, implementation, and compliance, among other topics.
The webinars are available here.
Insights Into The 2020 Individual Insurance Market
A new report from McKinsey & Company examined trends in insurance providers participating in individual health care exchanges, and found that participation increased in 2019 compared to previous years.
The report can be obtained at https://healthcare.mckinsey.com/sites/default/files/2020%20Individual%20Marketplace%20Infographic.pdf.
APTR Releases Newly Revised Clinical Prevention and Population Health Curriculum Framework
After 2 years of review and deliberation, the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) has released its newly revised Clinical Prevention and Population Health Curriculum Framework. This effort was led by APTR’s Healthy People Curriculum Task Force (HPCTF). The Framework features
a new domain addressing mental and behavioral health,
greater emphasis on Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and health equity,
improved, updated illustrative examples, and
14 new or revised topic areas.
Academic and practice community comments are welcome. Click here for more information or to share feedback.
Hospital Strategies To Promote Patient And Community Health
A new issue brief from the American Hospital Association (AHA) describes how hospitals and health systems are leading initiatives to foster healthy behaviors and improve the health of individuals and communities.
The issue brief can be obtained at https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2020/02/SDOH_HealthyBehaviors_IssueBrief.pdf.
Difficulty to Get Home Health Care With Medicare Payment Change
Experts say there are fewer incentives for agencies to deal with those who need extenive physical, occupational and speech therapy — and some are losing services. Previously, the more visits to a homebound patient, the higher payments. Now, Medicare payments are based on various factors: diagnosis, other medical conditions, level of impairment, timing of services, and hospital or rehab center referral.
Read more here.
Potential Fiscal, Credit Impact Of Medicaid Proposals
Recent regulatory actions from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) could have fiscal and credit repercussions for state governments and those reliant on state funding, particularly not-for-profit (NFP) healthcare providers, according to a recent commentary by Fitch Ratings. CMS issued regulatory notices to (1) allow states to transition to block grants or per capita cap grants for certain beneficiaries, effective immediately, and (2) the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR) could upend how states finance their Medicaid costs.
The commentary can be obtained at https://www.fitchratings.com/site/pr/10110150.
Health Care Cost and Utilization Report
Health Care Cost Institute annual reports examine year-over-year and five-year cumulative trends in health care spending for individuals with employer-sponsored insurance, segmented by health care service category. This year’s report found that average annual health care spending for individuals with employer-sponsored insurance increased to an all-time high of $5,892 in 2018. From 2014 to 2018, spending grew 18.4%, and about three-quarters of the increase was due to growth in service prices. In 2018, there was a 1.8% uptick in the use of services.
The report can be obtained at https://healthcostinstitute.org/health-care-cost-and-utilization-report/annual-reports.
Problems Paying Medical Bills, 2018
Recent findings from the National Health Interview Survey indicate that an estimated 14.2% of U.S. residents said they or a family member had problems paying medical bills in 2018, down from 19.7% in 2011, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The percentage of individuals in families having problems paying medical bills was higher among females (14.7%), children (16.2%), and non-Hispanic black persons (20.6%) compared with males, adults, and other racial and ethnic groups, respectively. Among persons under age 65, those who were uninsured were more likely than those with Medicaid or private coverage to have problems paying medical bills.
The report can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db357-h.pdf.
Medicaid Drives Growth In Federal Grants To States
According to a report from The Pew Charitable Trusts released in February 2020, states derive roughly one-third of their revenue from the federal government, funding that pays for health care, schools, roads, public safety, and other services. Since 2008, those grants have increased by 42 percent from $448 billion to $636 billion, adjusted for inflation, driven by rising Medicaid costs.
The report can be obtained at https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2020/02/medicaiddrivesgrowthfederalgrantsstates.pdf.
CMS Administrator’s Remarks At AMA Conference
Today, CMS Administrator Seema Verma spoke at the American Medical Association National Advocacy Conference. Her presentation included remarks about health care cost containment, the Medicare Advantage Program, and prior authorization.
Her remarks can be obtained at https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/speech-remarks-cms-administrator-seema-verma-american-medical-association-national-advocacy.
Trump Administration Releases FY 2021 Budget Request
Today, the Administration submitted to Congress the budget request for fiscal year 2021. A non-binding document, it specifies key priorities for the nation that involve prioritizing spending for programs that are a core function of the U.S. government.
The budget request can be obtained at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/budget_fy21.pdf.
An Overview of The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2020 to 2030
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the federal budget deficit in 2020 will be $1.0 trillion, or 4.6% of gross domestic product (GDP). If current laws governing federal taxes and spending generally did not change, the projected gap between outlays and revenues would increase to 5.4% of GDP in 2030. Federal debt held by the public would rise over the coming decade, from 81% of GDP in 2020 to 98% of GDP in 2030.
A new slide presentation by CBO officials can be obtained at https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2020-02/56108-CBO-presentation.pdf.
Call for Abstracts for Nexus Summit 2020
The 2020 Nexus Summit taking place August 23-26 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis is now calling for abstracts. The conference themes for this year include
Optimizing the interprofessional clinical learning environment and culture
Leadership and mentorship for IPE
Centering IPE around people/patients, families, caregivers, and communities
Evaluation, assessment and the use of informatics in IPE
Visit their website for more information and to submit an abstract once the submission portal opens on February 12.
Mortality In The United States, 2018
A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) presents final 2018 U.S. mortality data on deaths and death rates by demographic and medical characteristics. These data provide information on mortality patterns among U.S. residents by variables such as sex, age, race and Hispanic origin, and cause of death. Life expectancy estimates, 10 leading causes of death, age-specific death rates, and 10 leading causes of infant death were analyzed by comparing 2018 and 2017 final data.
The report can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db355-h.pdf.
New Model Proposed For Funding Medicaid
The Trump administration announced a new model for funding Medicaid that will allow states to apply for “capped funding,” which also is commonly known as a block grant. A posting from the Commonwealth Fund discusses what the change will mean for Medicaid, the states, and beneficiaries. While states will have more program flexibility, coverage and access to care may be at risk.
The posting can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/what-does-new-block-grant-guidance-mean-medicaid-program.
Understanding Equity Gaps In College Graduation
Policies and practices throughout the educational pipeline harm the educational attainment of black and Hispanic Americans. A paper from the Urban Institute involves the use of administrative data from Virginia and Connecticut colleges to examine graduation rate gaps within colleges, finding that even after adjusting for precollege student characteristics, gaps remain stubbornly high at many institutions.
The paper can be obtained at https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/101638/understanding_equity_gaps_in_college_graduation.pdf.
ASAHP IPS Deadline Extended to February 14
The deadline for ASAHP’s Institutional Profile Survey (IPS) has been extended until February 14, 2020. Login information has been provided to each institution’s member representative. Please email Kristen at kristen@asahp.org if you have any questions.
More information can be found here.
National Task Force On Transfer Of Credit Launched
The American Council on Education (ACE) announced the creation of a national task force focused on improving transfer and award of credit practices to spur student success and reduce the time it takes to graduate. A 2018 snapshot from National Student Clearinghouse data found that 38% of the 2.8 million entering college for the first time in fall 2011 transferred to a different institution at least once within six years. As they transfer, many lose academic credit. The aim is to produce a report for release in early 2021 that contains best practices and emerging strategies for improving the transfer and award of credit.
Work Requirements Under The Medicaid Program
Some states have implemented requirements for working-age adults to spend a certain number of hours working as a condition of having Medicaid coverage. An opinion piece from the Commonwealth Fund explores the growing uncertainty over these requirements amid growing evidence that they involve enormous administrative costs and cause individuals to lose health coverage.
The opinion piece can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/medicaid-1115-work-experiments-current-state-play.
Updated Quality Information Including Star Ratings On Hospital Compare
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today updated the overall hospital quality star ratings at Hospital Compare and data.medicare.gov as part of the quarterly refresh of the website’s data. Hospital Compare is one of nine CMS Compare websites.
Star ratings of hospitals can be obtained at https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html.