Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
What Happens To Rural Coronavirus Patients In Distress When Nearest Hospital Is 30 Minutes Away?
The New York Times: Closed Hospitals Leave Rural Patients ‘Stranded’ As Coronavirus Spreads
Michael Nuzum had spent weeks fighting coronavirus-like symptoms — a wracking cough, terrible chills, an exhausting fever — before collapsing at his home in rural West Virginia. Mr. Nuzum, a 54-year-old animal control worker, was already in cardiac arrest when the emergency workers arrived on April 3. That left them with a difficult decision: Should they transport their patient to the nearest hospital, 30 minutes away? “There’s only so much one paramedic can do in the back of an ambulance,” said Michael Angelucci, who leads the Marion County rescue squad that cared for Mr. Nuzum. (Kliff, Silver-Greenberg and Kluish, 4/26)
The New York Times: Where Americans Live Far From The Emergency Room
As the coronavirus outbreak spreads into rural parts of the United States, more people who live far from a hospital are increasingly likely to need one. That poses challenges for communities where hospitals are scarce and I.C.U. beds are in short supply — even a relatively small outbreak there could overwhelm medical resources, with potentially grim consequences for public health. Research shows people are less likely to seek health care, even emergency care, when they need to travel farther to get it, especially when they are more than about 30 minutes from a hospital. (Koeze, Patel and Singhvi, 4/26)
The New York Times: One Rich N.Y. Hospital Got Warren Buffett’s Help. This One Got Duct Tape.
It has been hours since the 71-year-old man in Room 3 of the intensive care unit succumbed to Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. His body has been cleaned, packed in an orange bag and covered in a white sheet, but the overextended transport team from the morgue has yet to arrive. The nurses on duty have too many other worries. University Hospital of Brooklyn, in the heart of the city hit hardest by a world-altering pandemic, can seem like it is falling apart. The roof leaks. The corroded pipes burst with alarming frequency. On one of the intensive care units, plastic tarps and duct tape serve as flimsy barriers separating patients. Nurses record vital signs with pen and paper, rather than computer systems. (Schwirtz, 4/26)
The Washington Post: States Scale Back Army Corps Makeshift Hospitals As Beds Go Unfilled
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has sprung into action in response to the coronavirus, fanning out across the country to convert dozens of conference centers, dorms and hotels into makeshift hospitals in a herculean aid effort for American cities. (Sonne and Ryan, 4/25)
Modern Healthcare: Some Of $50 Billion CARES Act Provider Grants Went To Closed Hospitals
In a rush to get money to providers in desperate financial situations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HHS sent some of providers' $50 billion in general grant funds to facilities that have closed. HHS' first $30 billion grant distribution was sent automatically based on 2019 Medicare fee-for-service reimbursement. It is unclear exactly how much grant money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act's provider relief fund was erroneously sent out, and how much has been recovered. HHS said the department prioritized getting funds out quickly and is working to claw back improperly sent funds and fix future distributions. (Cohrs, 4/26)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Suspends Advance Loans To Suppliers, Reevaluates Accelerated Payments
Following Congress' allocation of an additional $75 billion in COVID-19 provider relief grants, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Sunday suspended advance payments to Medicare Part B suppliers and will reevaluate new and existing applications for Medicare accelerated payments to Part A providers. President Donald Trump on Friday signed Congress' latest COVID-19 relief bill, which includes an additional $75 billion for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act's $100 billion grant fund for providers and suppliers. (Cohrs, 4/26)
Boston Globe: Hospitals Are Using Special Protective Booths To Test Patients For Coronavirus
After attending to COVID-19 patients at Massachusetts General Hospital’s intensive care unit Tuesday evening, Dr. Paul Currier set down his stethoscope and picked up some power tools. Director of the Respiratory Acute Care Unit at Mass. General, Currier is part of a team of doctors, designers, and engineers called to action to develop and produce protective safety barriers to be used at hospitals throughout the Partners HealthCare system. (Annear, 4/24)
Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Could Cause $650 Billion In Direct Medical Costs
Researchers estimate there will be $163 to $654 billion in direct medical costs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. If 80% of the U.S. population comes down with COVID-19, it will create $654 billion in direct costs resulting from almost 45 million hospitalizations, 6.5 million ventilators in-use and nearly 250 million hospital bed days, Health Affairs found. (Brady, 4/24)
Boston Globe: When COVID-19 Patients Need To Recuperate At Home, But Have No Home
Stephen Clark was shocked to learn last week that he tested positive for COVID-19. He felt fine — no fever, no cough, nothing. Most people in his situation go home to isolate, resting there for seven days if they continue to feel well, or calling their doctor if they develop symptoms. But Clark, a 49-year-old former restaurant worker, went straight to Boston Medical Center, one of the city’s busiest COVID-19 hospitals. He is among hundreds of Bostonians with COVID-19 who can’t recuperate at home, because they lack a home to return to. (Freyer, 4/26)
Detroit Free Press: Detroit Medical Center CEO Details Coronavirus Response, Struggles
The Detroit Medical Center's CEO Audrey Gregory, Ph.D., spoke to the Detroit Free Press on Thursday about how the health system — which operates eight hospitals in some of the Detroit neighborhoods hardest-hit in the coronavirus outbreak — has managed in the pandemic Gregory, who took over leadership at the DMC in January, has had a trial by fire in her first few months on the job. (Shamus, 4/24)
