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What We’re Reading: 70% of US Vaccinated; CMS Payment Rules Released; Alcohol Consumption and Cancer
Seventy percent of Americans have received at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine; CMS releases payment rules for fiscal year 2022; alcohol linked to over 700,000 new cancer diagnoses in 2020.
US Meets Biden's Vaccine Goal 1 Month Late
One month after President Biden’s set goal of vaccinating 70% of eligible Americans against COVID-19, the country met this threshold as the delta variant continues to sweep throughout states, The Associated Press reports. The president had originally hoped to have 70% of Americans receive at least 1 dose of the vaccine by July 4, and the country is still 8.5 million people short of its previous goal of fully vaccinating 165 million Americans. Meanwhile, new COVID-19 cases per day have increased 6-fold over the past month and most deaths and serious illness are among the unvaccinated.
Hospitals to Get Payment Boosts
CMS’ 2022 inpatient pay rule stipulates providers will no longer have to disclose their contract terms with Medicare Advantage insurers, Modern Healthcare reports. Thanks to the rule, providers will receive a 2.5% increase for inpatient service payments, amounting to $2.3 billion more than in 2021. In addition, long-term care hospitals will receive a 1.1% raise, or $42 million, while the rule will extend add-on payments for new COVID-19 treatments through the end of the fiscal year. It also mandates hospitals submit data on several measures to identify emerging COVID-19 outbreaks, according to Fierce Healthcare.
Alcohol Linked With Cancer Diagnoses in 2020
Data published in The Lancet Oncology found that over 700,000 new cancer cases were linked to alcohol consumption in 2020, CBS News reports. Specifically, analyses revealed over 4% of all new cancer cases in 2020 were caused by alcohol consumption, and although most were in those who consumed more than 2 drinks per day, over 100,00 cases globally were in individuals who averaged less than that. In 2020, many Americans turned to alcohol when COVID-19 led to nationwide shutdowns. In the analyses, most cancers identified were among men and were of the liver and esophagus, while breast cancer was most common among women.
Covering antiobesity medications like semaglutide could save Medicare around $500 million annually; preliminary CDC data showed a 3% decline in the number of US overdose deaths last year; the Biden administration recently announced the first national maternal mental health strategy.
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After the ACA Expanded Health Care Access, 2024 Elections May See Voters Demand Affordability
May 15th 2024At the spring conference of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, speakers discussed how health policy, affordability, and transparency may play a role in voters’ decisions.
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CMS Medicare Final Rule: Advancing Benefits, Competition, and Consumer Protection
May 7th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Karen Iapoce, senior director of government products and programs at ZeOmega, about the recent CMS final rule on Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage.
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House lawmakers are expected to advance a contracting ban today on 5 Chinese research firms; US government officials temporarily relaxed strict guidelines on how laboratories handle, store, and transport H5N1 bird flu samples; a recent report found that the number of abortions occurring in the US continued to grow despite bans.
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