Workers this year contributed an average of $5,588 to the cost of family coverage, with employers paying the rest, and that the average annual premium for single coverage rose 4%, to $7,470, according to the survey, which polled 1,765 public and private companies from January to July.
"Conducted partly before the pandemic, our survey shows the burden of health costs on workers remains high, though not getting dramatically worse," Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman said in a media release.
"Things may look different moving forward as employers grapple with the economic and health upheaval sparked by the pandemic," Altman said.
Employer-sponsored health insurance covers about 157 million nonelderly people and is the largest source of health insurance in the United States.
Annual premium growth continues to outpace the year-to-year wage growth (3.4%) and is close to double the rate of inflation (2.1%), as measured by the Gross Domestic Product.
Since 2010, average family premiums have increased 55%, at least twice as fast as wages (27%) and inflation (19%), KFF said.
More than 8-in-10 covered employees (83%) have a deductible in their plan, up from 70% a decade ago. The average single deductible stands at $1,644, slightly down from last year's $1,655 average but up sharply from the $917 average of a decade ago.
These two trends result in a 111% increase in the burden of deductibles across all covered workers, KFF said.
Despite the dramatic cost growth and skimpier coverage, 83% of employers said they are satisfied with the choice of providers in their insurance plans, though 67% said the same about their mental health and substance abuse networks.
About 19% describe their mental health networks as somewhat or very narrow, potentially leaving workers with limited options at a time when worry and stress related to the pandemic is affecting many working Americans.
As the coronavirus pandemic enters its seventh month, a survey finds deteriorating mental health and rising stress among 96% of low-income residents.
Nearly one-third (31%) of Californians have delayed urgent or emergency care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 36% of those with low incomes say their mental health has gotten "worse" or "a lot worse," according to a new survey.
The survey, conducted by the California Health Care Foundation and NORC at the University of Chicago – found that 96% of low-income Californians are struggling with the stresses of COVID-19 — including access to food, rent, and childcare.
"This has been a tumultuous year for all Californians, and we're seeing some serious warning signs about the toll it may be taking on the public's health," said Carlina Hansen, senior program officer on CHCF's Improving Access team.
"It is becoming increasingly clear how many vulnerable populations are delaying the healthcare they need — with consequences that should concern us all," Hansen said.
Seven million Californians — 18% of the state's residents — live in poverty.
"Large numbers of Californians with low incomes especially are under serious stress, whether due to declining incomes or concern about their loved ones' health," Hansen said.
The survey respondents reported nearly equal levels of worry about getting the coronavirus (41%) and suffering the pandemic's economic impacts (37%). The survey was conducted between June 24 and August 21.
More than two-thirds (65%) of respondents with low incomes and 76% of respondents of color who accessed healthcare during the pandemic said they used a phone or video telehealth visit.
Most (71%) called it a positive experience and like the option for phone or video visits, and 63% said they would pick a phone or video visit over an in-person visit when possible.
The survey also identified racism as a public health issue for many people of color, irrespective of the pandemic.
Nearly 7 in 10 Black respondents (69%) said they've experienced discrimination or unfair treatment because of their race or ethnicity, and 31% of people of color said their mental health was "worse" or "a lot worse" as a result of racial discrimination.
The survey, conducted between June 24 and August 21, polled 2,249 adults at various income levels about their health concerns, experience, and access prior to and during the pandemic.
The sample was disproportionately representative of low-income Californians, and respondents were limited to those who accessed care since March 2019."This is impacting everything from mental health to other health issues," Hansen said. "Even in the midst of the pandemic, this survey highlights the next health crisis brewing among some of the state's most vulnerable groups."
The Joint Commission's new Quick Safety advisory weighs in on virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic
A new Quick Safety advisory issued this week by The Joint Commission offers providers tips to ensure the safe and efficient use of telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic.
Telehealth has proven to be particularly effective during the pandemic because it promotes social distancing, allows for remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients, reduces the need for personal protective equipment, and helps access care for patients with transportation barriers.
"Telehealth has provided a safe option for many high-risk patients during COVID-19 by allowing them to seek medical care while avoiding unnecessary exposure to the pandemic," said Christina Cordero, project director, Department of Standards and Survey Methods, The Joint Commission.
Still, The Joint Commission notes that barriers to effective telehealth care delivery remain, particularly for patients who aren’t technologically savvy or who have connectivity issues.
Cordero offered these four tips to help providers improve telehealth services during the public health emergency.
Establish metrics for success, such as the number of patients seen via telehealth, reductions in no-shows and clinical outcomes, and make sure your telehealth vendor can provide easy access to data that supports the metrics.
Develop protocols for virtual care and determine standards for the specific symptoms and conditions that can be managed virtually.
Train staff on the telehealth workflow, define roles and responsibilities for staff and patients, and explain new processes. Include staff feedback into scheduling.
Provide real-time access to patient data and collection of remote patient monitoring into the electronic health record, especially data on temperature and pulse oximetry, blood pressure and glucose.
"While telehealth does not come without its own set of barriers and challenges, its benefits can be maximized when health care organizations consider safety actions and strategies to provide safe and quality care through telehealth," Cordero said.
The addition of two new patient visits per day or three returning patient visits was profitable for all specialists.
Physicians who use medical scribes can book up to 20% more patient visits in a workday, with the increased productivity paying for the cost of the scribe, a study released Tuesday finds.
Corresponding author Neda Laiteerapong MD, associate professor of Medicine at the University Chicago Medicine, said that adding a scribe to the medical staff gives physicians more time to treat patients, add new patients, and schedule more return visits.
"The idea that you have to see more patients can be really scary," Laiteerapong said. "But the idea is that you're actually spending that time more focused on the patient. A scribe allows doctors to focus on thinking and talking and listening, and not on the typing and clicking and ordering. I don't know anyone who became a doctor to do those things."
The study, which was published Tuesday in Annals of Internal Medicine, did an economic evaluation of 30 specialties, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners and found that the cost of employing a medical scribe can be offset within a year, after which increased profits follow.
"Scribes can help a practice add up to 20% more visits, which increases patient satisfaction," Laiteerapong said. "That is valuable to patients, who have increased access, and to providers who are able to do what they were trained to do, which is take care of patients, not paperwork."
The increased number of new patients varied with specialties, from 0.89% per day in cardiology to 2.78 new visits per day with orthopedic surgery. The addition of two new patient visits per day or three returning patient visits was profitable for all specialists.
"We found that an average of 1.3 new patient visits per day (295 per year) was required to recover the cost of a scribe at the one-year point," Laiteerapong added. "And for returning patient visits, it's two or three patients per day."
Researchers assumed that every patient visit would be reimbursed by Medicare and estimated the number of additional visits needed to have 90% certainty of breaking even one year after hiring a scribe. That break-even point could be even faster in practices with higher mixes of privately insured patients
The number of new patients or return visits needed to recoup costs is lower for specialists who order a lot of lab testing and radiology, and higher for others.
The study was done before the coronavirus pandemic and Laiteerapong conceded that that could prove problematic.
"Obviously, having an extra person in the room is not something that many physicians can do these days," she said. "But with modern technology, there can be a device in the room listening to the conversation and transmitting it electronically. So, a scribe working in another space can still have the notes 90% done when the physician leaves the room."
A Kaufman Hall analysis notes that the anticipated slowdown in healthcare M&As has not materialized.
Hospital volumes and revenues are slumping amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the public health emergency hasn’t slowed the pace of mergers and acquisitions, a new analysis shows.
"With 19 transactions announced in Q3, activity for the quarter was largely on par with historical third-quarter activity and was significantly above the 14 transactions announced in Q2 2020," an analysis released Tuesday by Kaufman Hall said.
The report noted that "four transformational transactions" in Q3 2020 "ties the highest number of transformational transactions that we have seen in a single calendar quarter," while the average size of seller by annual revenues was historically high, at just under $400 million.
Kaufman Hall analysis notes that the anticipated decline in healthcare M&As has not materialized, either in Q2 or Q3, and suggests that "the pandemic might strengthen the rationale for strategic partnerships, leading to a potential uptick in M&A activity as the industry continues with its repositioning."
The average price per unit across all types of insulin in the U.S. was $98.70. Other countries pay a fraction as much.
Insulin prices in the United States are more than eight times higher in the than in 32 high-income nations, a new RAND Corporation studyshows.
The average price per unit across all types of insulin in the U.S. was $98.70, higher than each of the 32 comparison countries, from 3.8 times higher than Chile to 27.7 times higher than Turkey.
U.S. prices were 6.3 times higher than Canada, 5.9 times higher than Japan and 8.9 times higher than in the United Kingdom, according to the study, which was commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The researchers relied on manufacturers' prices in the analysis, and acknowledged that the final, net prices paid by consumers are lower than manufacturer prices in the U.S. because of rebates and other discounts.
However, even when rebates and discounts cut prices in half, U.S. consumer are still likely to pay four times the average paid in other high-income nations, the study found.
"This analysis provides the best available evidence about how much more expensive insulin is in the U.S. than in other nations around the world," said study lead author Andrew Mulcahy, a senior policy researcher at RAND.
"Prices in the U.S. are always much higher than other nations, even if you assume steep discounts to manufacturer prices in the United States," he said.
A federal review of insulin price hikes found that the average U.S. wholesale price for rapid-acting, long-acting, and short-acting insulin increased by 15% to 17% per year from 2012 to 2016.
Another study found that insulin spending per person among adults with employer-sponsored health insurance doubled between 2012 and 2016, from $1,432 to $2,853 even with a 50% rebate.
It's not just consumers who are stuck paying higher prices. Medicare paid $8 billion for insulin in 2017 and one study found that the Department of Veterans Affairs could save about $4.4 billion a year if it was allowed to negotiate lower prices on insulin.
U.S. insulin is made mostly by Eli Lilly and Co, Novo Nordisk A/S, and Sanofi SA.
The study found that U.S. prices were higher for analog versus human insulins and for rapid-acting rather than short or long-acting insulins.
U.S. prices were even higher when researchers compared pooling similar insulin products together, which the researcher said indicates that the U.S. uses a more-expensive mix of insulins.
The board of directors at ARA unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
Private equity firm Nautic Partners, LLC has announced that it will acquire outpatient dialysis provider American Renal Associates Holdings, Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at $853 million.
Under the terms, ARA shareholders will get $11.50 per share in cash, which represents a 66% premiumon to Beverly, Massachusetts-based company's closing price on October 1.
"This transaction recognizes the value of the Company and delivers a meaningful premium to shareholders," ARA Chairman and CEO Joe Carlucci said in a media release.
Carlucci said he will delay his previously announced retirement "in order to guide the company through this transaction and into its next stage."
Nautic Principal Dan Killeen said the acquisition combines "ARA management and IRC's complementary team of executives as we look to support the Company in executing against its strategic plan built on a differentiated, patient-centric approach to the renal care market."
The board of directors at ARA unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
The agreement includes a 40-day "go-shop" period, which permits an independent board at ARA to solicit and negotiate offers from other interested buyers, with the right to nullify the deal with Providence, Rhode Island-based Nautic if they get a better offer elsewhere
One of the largest outpatient dialysis providers in the United States, ARA operates 251 clinics in 27 States and the District of Columbia serving more than 17,300 patients with end-stage renal disease.
ARA mostly relies on a business model that partners with local nephrologists to develop, own and operate clinics.
Revenues and EBITDA rose to $29.58 billion and $1.44 billion, respectively, including $826 million in CARES Act grants that were recognized as revenues across CommonSpirit's 137 hospitals in 21 states.
CommonSpirit Health on Friday reported an overall operating loss of $550 million in fiscal year 2020, which the Chicago-based health system attributed to low volumes and higher costs during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Our mission has driven our response to this pandemic and our path to recovery every step of the way," CommonSpirit CEO Lloyd H. Dean said in amedia release.
"This year has been challenging, but also deeply inspiring as we saw the resolve and courage from our healthcare workers and our patients," Dean said. "This experience has only strengthened our organization as we seize the chance to rethink how we can best deliver care and thrive long after this health crisis has passed."
Despite the pandemic, the nonprofit Catholic health system posted a modest increase in operating revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, when compared to FY 2019.
Revenues and EBITDA rose to $29.58 billion and $1.44 billion, respectively, including $826 million in CARES Act grants that were recognized as revenues across CommonSpirit's 137 hospitals in 21 states.
Dean said the CARES Act aid was critical in stabilizing CommonSpirit's financial losses during the pandemic's peak, and covered 60% of pandemic-related losses.
Adjusted admissions were down 6.2% compared to FY 2019, with volumes falling as much as 40% at many care sites in April when scheduled procedures were cancelled.
Volumes improved significantly in June, July and August, and are now only about 8% below pre-pandemic levels across all care settings, the health system said.
The health system mitigated some of the financially losses with cost-saving measures such as executive pay deductions and freezes on discretionary spending and capital projects. The system still is applying a stringent review process for new projects.
Five months after signing a non-binding letter of intent, the two health systems said the decision to stop the merger was by mutual agreement.
Advocate Aurora Health and Beaumont Health have ended merger talks, the two health systems announced jointly on Friday morning.
"We continue to have a very high regard for Advocate Aurora Health," John Fox, president and CEO of Beaumont Health, said in a media release. "But at this time, we want to focus on our local market priorities and the physicians, nurses and staff who provide compassionate, extraordinary care every day."
The merger talks began in late 2019 but were put on hold earlier this year as COVID-19 accelerated across the Midwest. Had the deal be finalized, the merged system would have included 35 hospitals, more than 650 care venues, 108,000 employees and $17 billion in annual revenues, with a presence in three states.
"We have great respect for Beaumont Health, and we continue to believe scale will play a critical role in advancing quality, accelerating transformation and reducing cost in the healthcare world of tomorrow." Advocate Aurora Health CEO and President Jim Skogsbergh said.
The proposed merger was met with growing resistance from physicians and community stakeholders and that opposition appeared to be intensifying. On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, D-MI, whose district includes Beaumont's Royal Oak campus, told Deadline Detroit that he would work to stop the merger.
"I simply do not accept this merger as it is currently proposed and unless I hear some facts to change my mind, I expect to make it stop happening," Levin told the news site.
Friday marks the third time in seven years that Beaumont has entered merger talks, only to see them collapse.
In 2013, a proposed merger with Henry Ford Health System was called off after Henry Ford CEO Nancy Schlichting cited "two very different perspectives (that) had emerged for the new organization between Henry Ford and Beaumont."
In May, Beaumont and Summa Health walked away from merger talks at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, but no reason was given by either health system.
Overall, the healthcare sector job growth continued to rebound in September, as the nation slowly emerges from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, but the pace has continued to slow,
The September gains included 18,000 jobs in physician offices, 14,000 jobs in other healthcare practitioner care venues, and 16,000 jobs in home health services.
Healthcare employment is down 631,000 jobs in 2020, including 285,000 job losses in the ambulatory sector, and 116,000 jobs losses in hospitals. The healthcare sector accounted for 15.8 million jobs in September, BLS data show.
September marks the fifth consecutive month of job growth for the healthcare sector, which suffered epic job losses in the spring owing to the coronavirus pandemic. In May, the sector saw 312,000 payroll additions, mostly in outpatient care venues.
The September job report largely reflects the state of the economy in mid-month and is considered preliminary and subject to considerable revision.
In the overall economy, BLS reported that payroll employment grew by 661,000 in September, down from 1.4 million in in August, and 1.8 million in July. The nation's unemployment rate fell to 7.9%, mostly because many people had stopped looking for work.
The overall U.S. economy has shed 10.4 million jobs in 2020.
