What We’re Reading: Health Data Breaches; Medicaid Grassroots Groups; PCP Shortage Impact

Health Data Breaches Hit an All-Time High in 2023

HHS reported that records from its Office for Civil Rights showed that as many as 116 million patients were impacted by large health data breaches this year, according to Stat. The number more than doubled this year due to a surge in hacking and ransomware attacks on health care organizations regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. In response to the uptick, federal agencies are taking action. For example, beginning this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission will require public companies to disclose “material” cybersecurity incidents within 4 days of discovery. Also, HHS issued guidance about data privacy and security for telehealth and health care cybersecurity practices.

Grassroots Groups Help Medicaid Recipients Regain Lost Coverage

Grassroots groups have begun leading the push to re-enroll the more than 2.4 million patients recently denied Medicare coverage for bureaucratic reasons, according to Stateline. More than 12.5 million people nationwide have lost coverage since April, when the federal pandemic provision requiring states not to drop anyone from Medicaid rolls expired. As of December 13, 71% of those who were dropped lost their coverage through “procedural” disenrollments, like missing paperwork. Many of these patients may be eligible for coverage but struggle to get the paperwork through state bureaucracies. Consequently, grassroots groups are helping them to get the coverage that they need.

Primary Care Clinician Shortage Eroding Patient Trust

A nationwide shortage of primary care clinicians is causing distrust in the health care system as patients are being shuffled from one provider to the next, according to NPR. The stress of the pandemic caused many health care workers to retire or quit, resulting in a shortage of clinicians and nurses. As providers broke relationships with patients, patients lost trust in the health system as accessing care became more frustrating. As a result, many patients have turned to hospitals when in need of care, which experts warn will put additional strain on the health system. This is because additional burdens have been placed on support staffers like medical assistants and other unlicensed workers amid the staff shortage, resulting in staff discontent throughout the health care community.