April 1, 2021 | WSJ: Hospitals hide pricing data from search results

INDUSTRY NEWS

WSJ: Hospitals hide pricing data from search results

Hospitals that have published their prices to comply with a new federal rule have also blocked that information from web searches with special coding embedded on their websites, according to a Wall Street Journal report. That code prevents search engines from displaying pages with the price lists, according to WSJ’s examination of more than 3,100 sites. The prices are often accessible other ways, such as through links that can require clicking through multiple layers of pages. (Wall Street Journal*)

Community health centers get funding to expand COVID vaccines

The Biden administration on Thursday said HHS will give approximately 1,400 community health centers across the country $6 billion to expand COVID-19 vaccinations, testing and treatment to vulnerable populations. The administration also announced that dialysis clinics will receive COVID-19 vaccines to vaccinate their patients. About 34% of the 500,000 people receiving regular dialysis care in the U.S. are Black, and 19% are Hispanic. (Modern Healthcare*)

INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION

Drones ready to make house calls

A new prototype telehealth drone developed at the University of Cincinnati can be dispatched to a patient's home. It's small enough to navigate the interior of a home comfortably. It also carries a small waterproof box to deliver medical supplies or collect self-administered lab tests. It also features cameras and a display screen so patients can talk to health care professionals from their home. "We can perform all kinds of functions: chronic disease management, post-operative care monitoring, health coaching and consultations," explains Debi Sampsel, director of telehealth at UC’s College of Nursing. (Forbes; announcement)

Electronic prior authorization faster

Electronic prior authorization reduces the time between submission and decision by about 69%, compared to doing it manually, according to a report from America's Health Insurance Plans and the nonprofit analytics firm RTI. Electronic prior authorization was associated with faster time to patient care, reduced burdens on health care professionals and improved understanding of prior authorization information. The analysis looked at 40,000 manual and electronic prior authorization requests from health plans. The COVID-19 pandemic had little statistical impact on the findings. (Healthcare Finance)

REGISTER NOW: Building Vaccine Confidence During COVID-19:The Role of the Medical Neighborhood | GTMRx Institute & Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) April 6 Virtual Event

Vaccinating Americans is critical to preventing severe illness or death from COVID-19 and ultimately stopping the pandemic. It is also essential in getting people back to work, to play, and to living. To achieve widespread vaccination, engagement of the medical neighborhood is fundamental when implementing community programs designed to effectively build vaccine confidence. While we have seen encouraging vaccination rates, urgent action is necessary to reach herd immunity which experts estimate would require anywhere from 70% to 90% of the U.S. population be fully vaccinated. The reasons people are skeptical about taking the coronavirus vaccine are complex. Building vaccine confidence requires proactive and thoughtful public awareness, education, and engagement of a variety of local stakeholders including community members. During this event, GTMRx will announce the National Task Force: Building Vaccine Confidence in the Medical Neighborhood.

Hear opening remarks from:

  • Senator William H. Frist, MD · Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader

  • Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP · President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

  • Anand Parekh, MD · Chief Medical Advisor, Bipartisan Policy Center

  • Katherine H. Capps · Executive Director and Co-Founder, GTMRx Institute


Hear from the CDC's Deputy Incident Manager for CDC’s COVID-19 Response:

  • Karen Remley, MD · Director, CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities


Medical Neighborhood Panel discussion moderated by Susan Dentzer, Senior Policy Fellow, Robert J. Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University, to include:

  • Sree Chaguturu, MD · Chief Medical Officer, CVS Caremark

  • Lisa Fitzpatrick, MD, MPH, MPA · Founder and CEO, Grapevine Health

  • Bruce Gellin, MD, MPH · President, Global Immunization, Sabin Vaccine Institute

  • Howard M. Haft, MD, MMM, CPE, FACPE · Executive Director, Maryland Primary Care Program


Join BPC & GTMRx April 6, 2021 from 10:30 am - 12:00 noon ET. Register Here.



CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS

Most uninsured are eligible for ACA subsidy or Medicaid

With changes made as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, the number of people eligible for a subsidy to purchase coverage on the ACA Marketplace has increased 20% from 18.1 million to 21.8 million, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The analysis also found that most uninsured Americans (63%) are eligible for Medicaid coverage or financial assistance on an ACA exchange plan, and more than 40% are eligible for a no-cost or very-low-cost plan. (KFF analysis)

Amazon Care: HIPAA doesn’t apply?

The national launch of Amazon Care has generated headlines and buzz, but one big question is getting less play than it deserves, MedCity News reports: privacy. Amazon’s announcement states that the service is “HIPAA-compliant,” but such compliance is only voluntary if HIPAA does not apply. Under HIPAA, if no reimbursement is sought, then no claims are submitted, and therefore the entity does not meet the definition of a “covered entity.” If Amazon Care does not meet the definition of a covered entity, then it is not subject to HIPAA imposed privacy obligations at the top level. (MedCity News)

NEW & NOTED

Struggling to buy meds: Americans are struggling to afford their regular prescription medication, according to a survey from GoodRx. Thirty percent of those who take medication for an ongoing condition have seen their out-of-pocket prescription drug costs increase in the last year. Nearly 40% of respondents reported difficulty affording their prescription medications. (Becker's Hospital Review; survey results)

Another successful vaccine: Since the introduction of the HPV vaccine in 2006, rates of HPV infections among females fell 88% in teens 14 to 19 years and by 81% in those aged 20 to 24 by 2018, according to research published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (MMWR)

The other COVID-19: Americans under stay-at-home orders gained about 1.5 pounds per month, according to a small study published in JAMA Network Open. The average age of participants was 51, and the group was fairly evenly split between men and women. (JAMA Network Open; Advisory Board Daily Briefing)

MULTI-MEDIA

EHR systems complicate COVID-19 vaccine rollout

One reason it’s hard to get a COVID-19 vaccine is a lack of EHR interoperability. Your health care provider doesn't want to share it with other providers. Dr. Bob Kocher, a partner at VC firm Venrock and former member of California Governor Gavin Newsom's testing task force, explains. (NPR)

MARKETVOICES...QUOTES WORTH READING

“They’re taking an active step to make something harder to find. I would say it violates the spirit of the rule.”—said Thomas Barker, a health care attorney at Foley Hoag and former official at the Department of Health and Human Services, on hospitals using code to hide pricing data from search results, quoted in the Wall Street Journal*

Nataleigh Cromwell