Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
ER Visit Times Stretch Longer As Hospitals Face Staffing Crunch
Axios: Hospital Staffing Shortages Are Leading To Longer ER Visit Times
Americans in need of urgent care are spending increasingly longer stretches of time in hospital emergency rooms, per recently released figures. The median time patients spent in emergency rooms was 2 hours, 40 minutes nationwide based on a 12-month average ending in the third quarter of 2022, according to the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data. (Fitzpatrick, 9/15)
Modern Healthcare: Why Unions See Nursing, Clinician Membership Increasing
As health systems continue to wrestle with employee burnout, momentum within the healthcare industry to unionize its workforce may be on the upswing. In 2021, only 13.2% of healthcare workers were unionized, a percentage that hasn’t changed much in the past decade according to the most recent research published in JAMA Network Open. However, major healthcare labor groups say they are seeing increased interest in union representation from clinicians. This year, the National Labor Relations Board has received petitions for labor representation from groups of clinicians and other workers at more than 200 healthcare facilities. (Devereaux, 9/14)
KFF Health News: Rural Nursing Home Supporters Fear Proposed Staffing Standards Will Trigger More Closures
Many rural communities like this one face a health care dilemma: Is it better to have a nursing home that struggles to hire workers or no nursing home at all? The national debate over that question will heat up now that federal regulators have proposed to improve care by setting minimum staffing levels for all U.S. nursing homes. Rural nursing homes would have five years to comply with some of the rules, versus three for their urban counterparts. Facilities also could apply for “hardship exemptions.” But industry leaders predict the rules could accelerate a wave of closures that has already claimed hundreds of rural nursing homes. (Leys, 9/15)
More health industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Hospital Readmissions Penalties Increasing In 2024: CMS
More hospitals will face readmissions penalties in 2024, a departure from the lower rates of reimbursement cuts providers saw last year, according to preliminary data released Thursday. While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has resumed use of its pneumonia readmissions measure, which was excluded last year from its Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, payment adjustments have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. (Devereaux, 9/15)
Modern Healthcare: Ambulance Services Mostly Out Of Network: FAIR Health
Nearly six in 10 ground ambulance claims were out-of-network last year, putting patients at significant risk of surprise bills, FAIR Health reported Thursday. The federal No Surprises Act provides consumer protections against unexpected charges from air ambulance providers but does not cover ground ambulance services. Last year, 59.4% of ground ambulance trips were out of network, according to a FAIR Health analysis of private health insurance claims data. (Devereaux, 9/14)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Underinsured Is The New Uninsured
The percentage of working-age adults with health insurance went up and the uninsured rate dropped last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week. There isn’t much suspense about which way the uninsured rate is now trending, as states continue efforts to strip ineligible beneficiaries from their Medicaid rolls. But is the focus on the uninsured obscuring the struggles of the underinsured? (9/14)
