Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Is Causing Health Care Workers To Quit
CNBC: Covid Is Driving An Exodus Among Health-Care Workers
For Audra Williams, intensive care unit (ICU) nursing was her “passion.” And for almost eight years, it was her career, leading her to work across four U.S. states including, most recently, New York. But when the coronavirus pandemic broke out last year, and when New York City turned into the virus’ global epicenter at one point, she was faced with a difficult decision: Should she leave behind the job she loves for the sake of her own health? (Gilchrist, 5/30)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Louisiana Has A Nursing Shortage. This University Is A Offering Tuition-Free Program To Help
Aiming to better meet a critical nursing shortage in Louisiana, Chamberlain University, the largest nursing school in the country, is teaming up with LCMC Health to offer a tuition-free nursing program. The "Called-to-Care Scholars Program" is open to applicants nationwide, but will address health care workforce shortages in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, where LCMC Health has six hospitals, officials announced this week. Based in Chicago, Chamberlain has a campus in Jefferson. (Hasselle, 5/29)
Modern Healthcare: Primary Care Providers Face New Challenges, New Competitors
Primary care providers during the pandemic are facing an increased number of challenges that are opening opportunities for competitors. But experts say patients need to be wary of what those competitors offer. The pandemic led the way for virtual care to become more mainstream in the U.S. and that threatened primary care providers who practice in smaller facilities and were buffeted by closures in 2020. Smaller practices did not make the transition to telehealth prior to the pandemic and therefore did not have the infrastructure to provide virtual care. (Devereaux, 5/31)
Stat: New Pediatricians See Fewer Routine Cases, But Many Mental Health Crises
In his first month as a pediatric intern at the University of California San Francisco, Alexander Hartman saw his first patient with an eating disorder. The same night, he saw a dozen more. His first rotation of his first year of residency was in the general pediatrics ward, and on nights, Hartman and the other interns covered the adolescent service, seeing teens starting from puberty. One night in June 2020, there were around a dozen patients in the ward, all with eating disorders. It was double the usual caseload. (Gaffney, 6/1)
Noticias Telemundo: Home Caretakers Are Among The Worst-Paid Workers In The U.S.
Home caretakers and personal aides, who are overwhelmingly Latinas and Black women, are among the worst-paid workers in the U.S., even as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the value of their care. Most home health aides have no benefits, like Medicaid, and earn $10 to $13 an hour on average, which they say barely covers the cost of traveling to and from their house calls. (Franco, 5/29)
Modern Healthcare: N.Y. Public Hospital Board Chair Resigns, Citing Need For Reform
The chair of the board that manages Nassau University Medical Center has resigned, echoing concerns about the hospital's viability. In recent years, the hospital has been in a state of financial decline, its total operating revenue dropping from around $607,000 in 2018 to $509,000 in 2021. Currently, Nassau University Medical Center has an operating deficit of $116.2 million. Robert Detor, who has chaired Nassau Health Care Corp., or NuHealth, since January 2020, resigned on Friday after notifying Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and stating his issues with the center's governance and lack of reforms. (Devereaux, 5/28)
KHN: Behind The Byline: Finding A ‘Superstar’ To Interview
Senior correspondent Jenny Gold started her yearlong project with a question: How will covid shape the next generation of doctors? In June 2020, more than 30,000 new doctors graduated from medical school and started their training on the front lines of the pandemic. Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez — a woman from Los Angeles whom Gold describes as thoughtful and outgoing — stood out from the beginning. She was about to start her residency in Fresno, California, a city in the state’s agricultural Central Valley that had become a hot spot for covid infections. (Gold, 6/1)
In other health care industry news —
The Courier-Journal: Baptist Health Louisville Closes Hospital's Inpatient Psychiatric Unit
Baptist Health Louisville made the "difficult decision" to permanently close Saturday its inpatient psychiatric care unit, meaning patients needing intensive mental health care must now move to other community programs. Baptist spokeswoman Julie Garrison told The Courier Journal the 22-bed inpatient psychiatric unit, also referred to internally as the Crisis Management Unit, "is no longer staffed" as of Saturday. A lower daily patient count and the need for space for more critical care and cardiac-monitored beds drove part of the decision to close the inpatient psychiatric unit, according to Baptist. (Kobin, 5/29)
Modern Healthcare: Nursing Home Price Per Bed Climbs Nearly 22% In First Quarter
The total price per bed for nursing homes jumped nearly 22% during the first quarter of 2021, increasing after four straight years of year-over-year losses, according to a new housing survey by JLL Valuation Advisory, a professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. The average price per bed rose to $90,700 during the first quarter, which is the second-highest annual price point for nursing homes on record, according to the report. Gains are largely attributed to government stimulus funds, including about $4.9 billion sent to nursing homes from HHS and $100 billion sent to qualified healthcare providers from the CARES Act, which helped operators maintain cash flows, the report said. (Christ, 5/28)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Bill On Lower-Cost Health Plans Passes Assembly, Returns To Senate To Concur
Lawmakers completed votes Sunday establishing publicly managed private health insurance options for lower-income individuals and helping laid-off gaming and travel workers get pre-pandemic jobs back as the session’s signature effort, a mining tax increase to fund education, got an easy ride through committee on the second-to-last day of the session. The health plan bill, Senate Bill 420, passed the Assembly on a party line vote, 26-15, and heads back to the Senate for concurrence on an amendment. The bill makes Nevada the second state, after Washington, to set up a coverage plan for lower-income individuals at rates below other plans offered on its health exchange. (Dentzer, 5/30)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Health Insurance Is On Sale At A Steep Discount Thanks To The Latest COVID-19 Relief Law
The federal government is running a big sale on health insurance. The American Rescue Plan Act, the latest effort out of Washington to lift the economy out of the COVID-19 doldrums, boosted subsidies, making it cheaper for more people to buy plans on Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces. “The savings are huge,” said Joanna Rosenhein, a specialist at the nonprofit Pennsylvania Health Access Network who helps people buy insurance. “We see people saving hundreds of dollars a month. Some people are now paying zero dollars per month, whereas before they were $100 or more.” (Brubaker, 5/28)
Stat: STAT Creates Fellowship Named For Reporter Sharon Begley
STAT on Tuesday opened applications for a new early-career science journalism fellowship named in memory of acclaimed reporter Sharon Begley, who was beloved by the legions of younger journalists she mentored in her four-decade career. The annual nine-month fellowship, offered jointly with MIT’s Knight Science Journalism program, aims to help improve the diversity of science journalism. (Joseph, 6/1)
