CDC Finds 3,500 Long COVID Deaths, Healthcare Spending Reaches $4.3T
A report from the CDC highlights the toll that long COVID has had on Americans, and new CMS data found that the growth of national healthcare spending slowed in 2021.
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By - In this week’s policy roundup, the annual CMS accounting report found that healthcare expenditures slowed compared to 2020 but still reached $4.3 trillion in 2021. And a CDC study looking at death certificates from the start of the pandemic found several thousand people died of causes attributed to long COVID.
VA Hires 1,000 Employees to Help with EHR Modernization
Last week, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hired 1,000 new employees to oversee the Oracle Cerner Millennium EHR Implementation. The VA has already experienced several delays with the project and hopes that the new group of Silicon Valley types will keep the project on track.
Currently, the system has gone live at five locations, but the rollout has not been smooth, and the EHR continues to experience downtime and patient safety issues. In the announcement, officials at the VA shared that the hiring spree also secured several project managers who will be responsible for expediting the time to implementation for Cerner’s EHR. READ MORE.
CDC Expands Viral Surveillance Partnership Program
The CDC is partnering with Helix, the leading population genomics and viral surveillance company, to improve disease surveillance and outbreak response in US health systems.
"The devastating impact of COVID-19 has highlighted the critical importance of preparing for novel pathogens that may give rise to future pandemics or the next inevitable 'Disease X,'" Daniel Lee, SVP of Life Sciences and Growth at Helix, said in a press release. "CDC and Helix, working with health care systems, are leading the way to monitor viral outbreaks and improve national pandemic readiness." READ MORE.
CDC Report Links Thousands of Deaths to Long COVID
A CDC report published last week linked 3,544 deaths to long COVID since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Researchers used death certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System to identify deaths caused by or linked to long COVID. Trends from the study found that people over 75 and American Indian or Alaskan Native people were most likely to be affected by the condition. READ MORE.
National Healthcare Spending Reaches $4.3 Trillion
National healthcare spending slowed down in 2021, growing by 2.7 percent as COVID-19 relief funding ran out. Data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) actuaries showed that the Federal government spent 3.5% less on healthcare in 2021 while spending on hospital and physician services also slowed compared to 2020. Additionally, the report released by CMS revealed that people used more prescription drugs in 2021, leading to accelerated spending growth. READ MORE.
Bipartisan Bill Calls for Extended Value-Based Payment Incentives
The Preserving Access to Value-Based Care Act, introduced by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Barrasso (R – WY), seeks to extend the 5 percent advanced alternative payment model incentive payment for an additional two years beyond its previous expiration date.
“Congress will be playing with fire by not extending these critical incentives, which are important to providing patients and our health system with better outcomes and higher quality care,” Clif Gaus, ScD, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), said in a press release. “We realize that there are several competing priorities for lawmakers but hope they recognize the critical role value-based care providers play in improving our health system. We thank Sen. Barrasso and Sen. Whitehouse for their leadership.” READ MORE.
