Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers Demands HHS Move More Quickly To Distribute Provider Relief Funds
Modern Healthcare: Congress Leaders Ask HHS To Speed COVID-19 Relief Funds To Medicaid Providers
Congress allowed HHS to distribute $175 billion in grants meant to help providers compensate for lost revenue and coronavirus-related expenses, but the agency has only sent out around $77 billion more than nine weeks after the fund was initially created. Providers such as pediatricians and OB-GYNs that only serve Medicaid patients have been largely left out of funding distributions, and providers that serve large Medicaid populations have been proportionally disadvantaged by the payment formulas. (Cohrs, 6/3)
The Hill: Bipartisan Lawmakers Press Trump Administration To Get COVID-19 Aid To Medicaid Providers
The lawmakers asked HHS to release a timeline for when it will send funds to Medicaid providers and how much it will distribute. “We understand that there may be federal data limitations in Medicaid that do not exist in Medicare,” the lawmakers wrote. “Medicaid-dependent providers serve some of the frailest and most vulnerable Americans. We must not let their financial insolvency due to the COVID-19 pandemic threaten access to essential care for these individuals," they said. (Hellmann, 6/3)
Roll Call: Top Health Lawmakers Push HHS On COVID-19 Medicaid Payments
The lawmakers added that delays in distributing these funds could result in long term financial hardship. “It could also severely hamper their ability to continue to serve as essential providers amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. We write regarding the need for a dedicated distribution from the PHSSEF for providers who rely on Medicaid and to share our serious concerns with the ongoing delay of funding,” they said. (Raman, 6/3)
In other news on costs and quality —
Modern Healthcare: Primary-Care Practices Fear They May Not Survive The Pandemic
Primary care practices focus on the preventive care that keeps patients healthy. Many of them are small but punch above their weight in providing access to services in underserved communities. A series of new surveys by researchers at NYU have found that the city's primary care practices have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. Many of them worry they may not come out on the other side. (Henderson, 6/3)
San Francisco Chronicle: California Hospitals Lose Billions To Coronavirus; Costs Could Spike
California hospital revenue plummeted by more than a third in the first four months of the pandemic as costs to care for coronavirus patients rose, a shocking financial blow that threatens to raise health care prices, according to a recent report. The report, published Wednesday by the California Health Care Foundation, said hospital revenue fell by a cumulative $13 billion from March to June — a 37% reduction from pre-coronavirus levels — as state and local shelter-in-place orders nearly eliminated surgeries and halved emergency room visits. (Moench, 6/3)
Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Should Be A Catalyst To Get Quality Right, Experts Say
CMS quickly altered its approach to quality reporting as COVID-19 spread across the country, but the pandemic has provided an opportunity for more extensive change, according to several experts. The Trump administration temporarily paused reporting requirements for a wide range of quality improvement programs, including the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program and the Merit-based Incentive Payment System. (Brady, 6/3)
