COVID-19

OIG: Improve Medicare rate-setting for clinical diagnostic lab tests

April 12, 2024 - CMS’ procedures for setting Medicare rates for clinical diagnostic lab tests could improve for future public health emergencies, according to a new report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). OIG said in the report that, during the COVID-19 public health emergency, current Medicare rate-setting procedures “did not allow the...

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Hospital Costs for Inpatient COVID-19 Treatment Rose 26% During Pandemic

by Victoria Bailey

The costs of providing inpatient COVID-19 treatment increased by 26 percent over the first two years of the pandemic, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Through the end of 2022,...

COVID-19 Surges Led to Fluctuating Occupancy Rates at Hospitals

by Victoria Bailey

COVID-19 surges in 2020 led to increased occupancy in inpatient settings and intensive care units (ICUs) and declining surgical occupancy rates, creating unstable financial conditions for hospitals, a...

How Did Commercial Payments for COVID-19 Inpatient Stays Vary in 2020?

by Victoria Bailey

Commercial payments for inpatient stays associated with COVID-19 in 2020 were higher for health system-affiliated and high-quality hospitals, a study published in JAMA Health Forum found. When the...

Study: Hospital Bottom Lines Better Than Depicted During COVID-19

by Jacqueline LaPointe

A new study published in JAMA Health Forum reveals hospitals did not fare poorly during the first two years of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) despite claims of financial...

CMS Withdraws COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers

by Jacqueline LaPointe

CMS has formally withdrawn the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, according to a final rule published in the Federal Register today. The Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination...

HHS to Start Unwinding COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement

by Jacqueline LaPointe

HHS and DHS are starting the process of ending the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for CMS-certified healthcare facilities, as well as Head Start educators and certain noncitizens at the borders. The...

House Oversight Panel Investigates COVID-19 Relief Allocation

by Jacqueline LaPointe

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Representative Nick Langworthy (R-NY) recently launched an investigation into how HHS allocated COVID-19 relief funds to...

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements Boosted Uptake Among NYC Municipal Workers

by Victoria Bailey

After the testing option was eliminated, COVID-19 vaccination requirements were linked to an increase in the vaccination rate among New York City municipal workers in 2021, according to a study...

4 Common Surgeries Shifted to Outpatient During COVID-19

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted greater uptake of outpatient surgery for four commonly scheduled general surgery operations, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open. Hospitals in the American...

Two-Thirds of People Evade Coverage After Medicaid Disenrollment

by Jacqueline LaPointe

In a year after Medicaid disenrollment, about two-thirds of people had a period of uninsurance, according to a recent analysis from Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). The Families First Coronavirus...

Medicare Part B Spending on Laboratory Tests Totaled $9.3B in 2021

by Victoria Bailey

Medicare Part B spending on laboratory tests increased by 17 percent between 2020 and 2021, resulting from high volumes of COVID-19 tests, genetic tests, and chemistry tests, a report from the Office...

Analysis: COVID-19 Booster Campaign Could Save $44B in Healthcare Spending

by Jacqueline LaPointe

A COVID-19 boost vaccination campaign could seriously impact potential healthcare spending this fall and winter, according to a new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund. The private think tank recently...

8 New CPT Codes Added for Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Doses

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The American Medical Association (AMA) has announced an editorial update to its Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set to include eight new codes for the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine doses from...

COVID-19 Diagnosis Leads to More Healthcare Utilization Later

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Healthcare utilization goes up for patients who receive positive COVID-19 results because of post-COVID-19 conditions, according to a recent study. The study published in JAMA Network Open earlier...

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