Pandemic Era Telehealth Boom Reined-In By States, Insurers
Stat reports that though telehealth is here to stay, some state-issued emergency rules and insurer policies that were applied during the pandemic are being rolled back. The Houston Chronicle reports on calls for tech to also enable more in-person care.
Stat:
States And Insurers Resurrect Barriers To Telehealth, Straining Patients
Telemedicine is here to stay. But its free-for-all era may be coming to an end. State-issued emergency declarations and insurer policies that were issued at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and that were meant to encourage the use of telemedicine are being phased out across U.S. states, one by one. And as they fade away, rules that make telemedicine more complicated — and costly — are setting back in. (Palmer, 7/13)
Houston Chronicle:
Make Telemedicine Permanent? Tech Should Also Enable More In-Person Care
The use of technology has promised to change most jobs. This change has been greatly accelerated by COVID in health care with the use of telemedicine. The American Medical Association has predicted that after COVID, telehealth will account for a shift of $250 billion or about 20 percent of what Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurers spend on outpatient, office and home health visits. In this bright future, physicians sit in their offices, patients sit at home and … done! (Arthur Garson Jr., 7/9)
Modern Healthcare:
Safety-Net Hospitals Hit Hard By Pandemic Could Lose Access To 340B Drugs
Some hospitals serving large volumes of low-income patients are at risk of getting kicked out of a popular federal discount drug program as the fallout from the pandemic's unprecedented impact on healthcare providers continues. The 340B program, which allows qualifying hospitals and providers to buy deeply discounted drugs from manufacturers, has strict eligibility requirements and an annual recertification process. Providers must show that a certain percentage of patients they served in the year prior were low-income or on Medicaid. (Hellman, Brady, and Broderick, 7/12)
Axios:
Pay Gaps Persist In Academic Internal Medicine Specialties
Women who teach internal medicine specialties still get paid less and have less representation in leadership, according to a new study from JAMA Internal Medicine. In their analysis across 154 medical schools in the U.S. between 2018 and 2019, researchers found women were paid at least 90% of men's median annual salary in 10 of 13 internal medicine specialties. (Fernandez, 7/13)
Axios:
Hospitals Launch Antitrust Lawsuit Against Intuitive Surgical
Several hospitals have mounted a legal battle against the company that makes the da Vinci surgical robot, alleging its monopoly position forces hospitals to buy its maintenance services and replacement parts at inflated prices even though cheaper options exist. In one allegation, a hospital says Intuitive Surgical remotely shut down a hospital's surgical robot "in the middle of a procedure" which forced the surgeon "to convert the procedure to open surgery with the patient on the operating table," after the hospital said it was considering a service contract with a third party. (Herman, 7/13)
The Oregonian:
Former OHSU Medical Resident Says School Breached Settlement Agreement
A former medical resident at Oregon Health & Science University who had sued the school in 2018 alleging retaliation for her complaints about sexual harassment and discrimination now accuses the school of breaching the settlement reached in that case. After mediation three years ago, OHSU was to pay $100,000 to the resident, identified only as " I.J.,” and she agreed to resign from her residency job at the medical school as of Oct. 31, 2018. Her new lawsuit contends the school shared disparaging and negative information about her with prospective employers and other residency programs, commented on the existence of the agreement in violation of the settlement and failed to provide a reference letter for her as required. (Bernstein, 7/12)
Modern Healthcare:
Atlantic Health, NYU Langone Health Form Transplant Alliance
Atlantic Health System and NYU Langone Health will coordinate heart and liver transplant care via a clinical affiliation, the New Jersey and New York not-for-profit health systems announced Monday. Atlantic clinicians will provide pre- and post-transplant care at Morristown Medical Center's Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute and Overlook Medical Center while physicians at the NYU Langone Transplant Institute will perform the surgeries. (Kacik, 7/12)
Modern Healthcare:
UnitedHealth Claims Policy Won't Dent 2021 Finances
MultiPlan Corporation said Monday that it doesn't expect a UnitedHealth Group policy change to have a "material impact" on the New York-based cost management company's financial performance for 2021. The company still expects to generate up to $1.1 billion in revenue for the full year, despite its stock price diving 25% over the past week due to "ongoing discussions in the media and among the investor community" over the Minnetonka, Minn.-based health giant's insurance subsidiary plan to no longer pay some out-of-network claims. Starting July 1, UnitedHealthcare will no longer pay out-of-network claims when fully insured customers seek non-emergency care outside of their local coverage area. (Tepper, 7/12)
Modern Healthcare:
Intermountain Closes Most Of Its Retail Pharmacies After CVS Deal
Intermountain Healthcare plans to close 25 of its 26 retail pharmacies in Utah by August, citing declining business and a new deal with CVS Health.The health system will only keep its pharmacy at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City open as a home delivery, retail, and specialty pharmacy for the area's residents. (Gellman, 7/12)
