In The Know: Stay Informed with Health Care News
Posted by Pauline Heidemann on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 @ 06:15 AM
This week, In The Know, looks at the following news stories: Extension Granted to Religious Hospitals on Birth Control Rule; Shorter Length of Hospice Care Causes Concern; AHA Concerned Medicare Cuts Will Impact Hospital Jobs; AHA Concerned Medicare Cuts Will Impact Hospital Jobs; Healthy New Year Video Challenge Announced.
Extension Granted to Religious Hospitals on Birth Control Rule
Nonprofit organizations with religious affiliations will have until August 2013 to begin offering employees full coverage of contraceptives, as mandated by the Affordable Care Act’s provision requiring no-cost coverage for preventive health services. The final rule, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week, says that by this date health plans must cover all FDA-approved contraceptives, including hormonal contraceptives such as birth control pills, implanted devices, such as IUD, emergency Plan B contraceptives (the morning-after pill), and sterilization without charging a co-pay, co-insurance, or a deductible. Religious hospitals petitioned HHS for an exemption after the preliminary rule was issued last summer. The exemption was not granted, however, as a compromise, they have been given an extra year to comply. To read more, click on http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120120a.html.
Shorter Length of Hospice Care Causes Concern
According to a recent report, the length of stay for hospice care has decreased, although hospice care has remained steady. In 2010, there were 1.58 million hospice patients, slightly more than 1.56 million in 2009, however, the average length of service dropped to 67.4 days in 2010 from 69 days in 2009, and the median length of services in 2010 was 19.7 days – a decrease from 21.1 days in 2009. The report, conducted by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), suggests that providers are not reaching patients in a timely manner. NHPCO President and CEO, J. Donald Schumacher said, “We don’t want appropriate access of hospice care to drop – particularly with our aging population where more people are dying with complex, multiple illness.” To read the Press Release, click on http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=6056.
AHA Concerned Medicare Cuts Will Impact Hospital Jobs
A new report from the American Hospital Association (AHA), conducted together with the economic research firm Tripp Umbach, projects that nearly 280,000 hospital jobs could be lost over the next decade because of a potential $61.4 billion in Medicare cuts. Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, Medicare will cut $41.5 billion in payments in each of the next nine years. AHA President and CEO, Rich Umbdenstock, said, “Cuts in funding for hospital care will threaten jobs at a time when our nation needs to be creating jobs, not eliminating them.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics this month reported overall health care employment is up with December gains of 22,600 health care jobs, with 9,800 in hospitals. To read the AHA news brief, click on http://www.ahanews.com/ahanews/jsp/display.jsp?dcrpath=AHANEWS/AHANewsNowArticle/data/ann_011912_jobs&domain=AHANEWS.
Health Insurance Premiums Ruled Excessive by HHS
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has determined health insurance premium hikes by Trustmark Life Insurance to be excessive. The rate hikes would affect nearly 10,000 residents across five states in Alabama, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wyoming. The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to disclose rate increases over 10 percent and to justify those increases. In these five states, Trustmark raised rates by 13 percent. HHS determined that the rate increases were unreasonable because the insurer would be spending a low percent of premium dollars on actual medical care and quality improvements, and because the justifications were based on unreasonable assumptions. To read HHS’s Press Release, click on http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120112a.html. To read more about the rate review program, click on http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/costs/rate-review/.
Healthy New Year Video Challenge Announced
As a way to motivate and inspire patients to use health information technology, the first in a series of consumer video challenges has been announced. Submissions for the Healthy New Year Video Challenge will be accepted through February 16, and can range from creative and innovative ways of e-mailing your doctor, using an online patient-portal to manage your health information, or downloading a mobile application that sends medication reminders. The video challenge is offered by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). Winning entries will be determined from public votes, and a panel of judges will ultimately select the top winners in each category. Winners will be awarded a portion of $5,000 in prize money and their video will be featured on ONC’s consumer-facing website. For more details, including contest rules, click on http://healthynewyear.challenge.gov.