If there has been a silver lining to this terrible Covid-19 pandemic, it is that the rate of Americans without health insurance dropped to a near historic low, thanks to various federal initiatives connected to the government-declared public health emergency.
Now, with the pandemic’s acute phase seemingly drawing to an end, millions of low-income and middle-income Americans are at risk of losing health insurance. The United States might see one of the steepest increases in the country’s uninsured rate in years.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has developed and released a three-year strategic plan they believe will “get us closer to achieving our vision of a just society of healthcare communities, where all individuals reach their highest potential for health” that reflects changes in healthcare due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic’s beginning, EHR-related factors have dropped from top spots as a cause of burnout for clinicians, making way for chaotic work environment and long hours.
The FDA revised its emergency use authorization for EVUSHELD™, tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab. The initial dose authorized has been changed to 600 mg for pre-exposure prevention of COVID-19.
Maine Medical Center plans to leave the Anthem insurance network in January because of the insurer’s payment practices, including what hospital officials say is $13 million in underpayments to the hospital and more than $70 million in unpaid claims to the MaineHealth hospital network. The dispute pitting the state’s largest hospital against one of Maine’s largest health insurers could affect more than 150,000 patients, who would have to pay higher out-of-pocket costs at Maine Med.
The Syracuse Fire Department may start billing residents for ambulance calls they handle when private companies are overwhelmed. Since November, the city’s fire department has been running a pilot ambulance service to fill in gaps for AMR and other ambulance services who have been stretched thin by the pandemic.
