Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As The Pandemic Drags On, Demand For Psychologists, Therapists Soars
After Jessica W. was laid off from her job as an executive assistant in November, she began backsliding into the eating disorder that she thought she had overcome. 鈥淚 started to not want to eat again,鈥 Jessica, 33, said. 鈥淭hose thoughts and behaviors 鈥 they鈥檙e just debilitating and they drain you. It becomes a constant battle with yourself.鈥 Jessica, whose last name has been withheld to protect her privacy as she searches for a new job, was also struggling with anxiety and depression. So she went online and started searching for mental health providers in Connecticut, where she lives. One of the therapists she called wasn鈥檛 accepting new patients. Two of them told Jessica that they didn鈥檛 have the right skill sets to help her. Others simply didn鈥檛 respond. (Caron, 2/17)
In other health care industry news 鈥
KHN: Medicare Cuts Payment To 774 Hospitals Over Patient Complications
The federal government has penalized 774 hospitals for having the highest rates of patient infections or other potentially avoidable medical complications. Those hospitals, which include some of the nation鈥檚 marquee medical centers, will lose 1% of their Medicare payments over 12 months. The penalties, based on patients who stayed in the hospitals anytime between mid-2017 and 2019, before the pandemic, are not related to covid-19. They were levied under a program created by the Affordable Care Act that uses the threat of losing Medicare money to motivate hospitals to protect patients from harm. (Rau, 2/19)
Look Up Your Hospital: Is It Being Penalized By Medicare?
Atrium Health announced Thursday that it had broken ground on a new, $13.8 million emergency care facility in Mountain Island, part of an effort the health system says is aimed at reducing barriers to care. The Atrium Health Mountain Island Emergency Department facility is associated with Atrium Health University, Atrium said in a release. Construction on the emergency department is expected to take approximately 10 to 11 months, Atrium said, and it is slated to open by the end of the year. (Chemtob, 2/18)
Community Health Systems in 2020 wrapped up its multi-year effort to sell underperforming hospitals, an undertaking that significantly trimmed its portfolio and appears to have bolstered its bottom line. Investor-owned CHS posted $511 million in net income to shareholders in a year where admissions were dampened by a devastating global pandemic, a major swing from its $675 million net loss in 2019. Like most of its peers, CHS' performance got a major boost from federal stimulus grants, of which it recognized about $600 million during the year. The company's earnings鈥攅xpressed as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization鈥攚ere $1.8 billion in 2020, up 11% year-over-year. (Bannow, 2/18)
When the pandemic hit last year, clinical trials took a hit. Universities closed, and hospitals turned their attention to battling the new disease. Many studies that required repeated, in-person visits with volunteers were delayed or scrapped. But some scientists found creative ways to continue their research even when face-to-face interaction was inherently risky. They mailed medications, performed exams over video chat and asked patients to monitor their own vitals at home. (Anthes, 2/18)
Universities and academic hospitals have vowed to diversify their ranks after a year of reckoning over racial injustice. Among the remedies faculty are pushing: rewarding diversity and inclusion efforts in promotion decisions. (Joseph, 2/19)
