Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals Wary Of Resuming Elective Procedures Without Liability Protections Even As They Stand To Lose Billions
Politico: Hospitals At Center Of Fight Over Liability Protections In Coronavirus Relief Bill
Hospitals are warning they will be slow to restart elective procedures like knee surgeries and colonoscopies without assurances from Congress they won’t get sued by patients and their own workers if they are infected by the coronavirus during those visits. Powerful industry lobbies like the American Hospital Association pressing for relief in the next rescue package have gained a sympathetic ear from Republican leaders in Congress. They'll be joining with a raft of other industries seeking legal protections, ranging from manufacturers to casinos, while facing opposition from Democrats concerned about stripping patients' legal rights. (Luthi and Roubein, 5/11)
Modern Healthcare: Deferred Procedures Drain Hospital Revenue By $60B A Month
More than 3,000 surgeries have been put off at Yale New Haven Health since mid-March, which accounts for about 80% of its total surgeries. That scenario mirrors health systems across the country that have had to delay procedures deemed less urgent as they focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. At Yale, overall outpatient services have declined by about 50%, said Dr. Keith Churchwell, the system's chief operating officer. (Kacik, 5/11)
Modern Healthcare: Memorial Sloan Kettering Reports Operating Loss Of $62 Million In First Quarter
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center provided more chemotherapy and radiation in the first three months of 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the New York City hospital to postpone many surgeries in the latter part of March. Sloan Kettering reported chemotherapy infusions were up 7.3% in the quarter ended March 31 compared with the prior-year period, and radiation oncology increased 9% in that time. Radiology services grew 20% in that period. (Bannow, 5/11)
Boston Globe: For Hospitals, The Coronavirus Crisis Extends Deep Into Their Finances
As the coronavirus pandemic begins to slowly abate in Massachusetts, hospitals are confronting the full breadth of the devastation it has wreaked on not only their patients, but their finances. The state’s hospitals are currently losing $1.4 billion in revenue each month, according to the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, and are projected to lose $5 billion in revenue through July. (McCluskey, 5/11)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Wants To Boost Inpatient Hospital Payments By 1.6%
CMS wants to increase Medicare payments for inpatient hospital services by 1.6%—or about $2 billion—in 2021. The agency's proposed inpatient prospective payment system, or IPPS, rule would increase operating payments by about 2.5%. General acute hospitals that are meaningful use EHR users and fulfill the requirements of the inpatient quality reporting program will see their operating payments rise 3.1%. (Brady, 5/11)
Modern Healthcare: Henry Ford, University Of Michigan Resume Organ Transplant Schedule
Transplant surgeries are being resumed by many teaching hospitals in Southeast Michigan, with Donna Arm being the first patient at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit to receive a replacement heart during the COVID-19 crisis. Arm, 68, received her heart transplant on April 25. Like many patients, she was reluctant to call her doctor for nearly a month — even though she felt progressively worse and has had congestive heart failure since 2014 — because COVID-19 patients were filling hospitals with very sick patients. (Greene, 5/8)
