Congress delayed Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson’s confirmation hearing to be the new secretary for Veterans’ Affairs amid allegations of inappropriate behavior in his current role. Although the White House officially backed Jackson Tuesday morning, Pres. Trump appeared to offer Jackson a way to bow out of the nomination by Tuesday afternoon. Jackson says allegations of drinking on the job and over-prescribing medicines are “categorically untrue,” adding that he’s looking forward to the hearings.
(
The Hill
)
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Short-term health plans provide coverage that’s about 20 percent cheaper than the least expensive plan on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, but their benefits are much leaner. None of the plans in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation analysis covered maternity care, 43 percent don’t cover mental health services, 62 percent don’t cover substance abuse, and 71 percent don’t cover prescriptions. Critics of the administration’s move to extend the duration of these plans to nearly 12 months say they’ll draw healthy people out of the individual insurance exchanges and prompt higher prices for those left behind; two new actuarial analyses support that assumption.
(
Washington Examiner
;
Health Affairs
;
Kaiser Family Foundation report
)
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Innovation & Transformation
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There’s a digital divide between solo/small physician practices and their larger counterparts when it comes to patient-facing electronic health records features. Among practices with six or fewer clinicians, nearly 90 percent aren’t using the advanced features patients like the most—like electronic messaging, interoperability, data sharing and patient engagement—according to a new survey of 19,000 EHR users. Smaller practices also post the highest EHR dissatisfaction ratings, researchers say—perhaps because they are using older, less sophisticated systems. Since 91 percent of patients under age 50 prefer digitally-based practices, smaller practices that don’t digitally adapt will likely lose younger patients. (
HealthcareDIVE
)
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For just $199, your doctor can add a Steth IO protective case to an iPhone and hold it over your chest to measure heart rate and lung sounds
, à la the
Star Trek tricorder. The device, originally developed by the 15-year-old son of a doctor (and Steth IO’s founder), uses digital filters to boost important frequencies and reduce background noise so the user can clearly hear heart rhythms. Users can record the exam and use the device app to make notes and export the sound file, too. (
MobiHealthNews
)
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April 1 marked the launch of the new Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program benefit, but only three providers have been approved to date. Although Medicare Advantage plans are required to offer the program to members, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has yet to post a website or phone numbers for beneficiaries to access the program, and the community organizations (like local YMCAs) that are envisioned to run the programs appear hesitant to take on the administrative requirements. When fully implemented, the program will be free to Medicare Part B members with prediabetes who are overweight and ready to commit to exercise and a healthy diet.
(
Kaiser Health News
)
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Walmart announced an addition to its Center of Excellence program, partnering with Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare Network for joint replacement and spinal surgery for employees across the U.S. Under the plan, employees will pay no out-of-pocket or travel-related costs for some spine and joint replacement surgeries, plus a menu of weight loss and cardiac surgeries done at Emory. Combined with the announcement was a benefit option for more than 2,000 Atlanta-based Walmart, Sam’s Club and distribution center employees, who are now able to choose Emory’s accountable care organization as their primary health plan as well. (
FierceHealthcare
;
Emory news release
)
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Schilz joins Mathematica health policy team:
Delivery system transformation veteran Julie Schilz is joining the health team at policy research firm Mathematica. Schilz led Anthem’s efforts to develop and implement its care delivery transformation program. She previously managed Colorado’s Multi-Payer Patient Centered Medical Home initiative and implemented the Beacon Primary Care Transformation program there.
(
Mathematica
announcement
)
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CMMI considers direct primary care:
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation has asked for comments on direct contracting between payers and medical practices as a potential alternative payment model. The Request for Information calls it “direct provider contracting” rather than the more recognizable “direct primary care” terminology, but it directly refers to private sector arrangements where patients contract directly with providers, eliminating the insurance middle man. The deadline for comments is May 25, 2018. (
CMS RFI;
press release
)
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Most scopes aren’t clean:
A scary study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found 71 percent of reusable medical scopes—used for colonoscopies, lung procedures, etc.—tested positive for bacteria at three major U.S. hospitals. At the single hospital that meticulously followed current sterilization guidelines, more than half of the scopes still tested positive for bacteria. Employees skipped safety steps at the other two hospitals, and between 85 to 92 percent of those scopes weren’t clean. Staff at all three hospitals knew they were part of a study, too. (
FierceHealthcare
)
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The large number of overdose deaths is resulting in more potential organ donors—representing (nationally) 13.4 percent of donors, rather than just 1 percent reported in 2000. Transplant doctors tend to reject using these organs more often than organs from patients who die from trauma, but should they? New research says they perform after transplant just as well. (
MedPageToday video blog
)
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MarketVoices...quotes worth reading
“These results are pretty scary. These are very complicated pieces of equipment, and even when hospitals do everything right we still have a risk associated with these devices. None of us have the answer right now.” Janet Haas, president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, as quoted by
FierceHealthcare
.
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Editor
Sandy Mau
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