COVID Relief Bill Could Mean Medicare Cuts; Patient Financial Literacy Impacts Revenue

March 23, 2021 - Industry groups are keeping a close eye on both chambers of Congress as a federal relief bill could seriously impact Medicare reimbursement. Meanwhile, new data highlights the connection between patient financial literacy and the ability of providers to improve patient collections.

Medicare Spending Cuts on the Loom Large

Several leading industry groups have called on Congress to prevent up to $36 billion in Medicare spending cuts triggered by recent legislation actions. The American Medical Association has urged Congress to prevent pending Medicare spending cuts triggered by the latest COVID-19 relief plan. The American Hospital Association already expects hospitals to lose up to $122 billion this year because of pandemic-related costs and expenses. READ MORE

Data Reveal Pfizer Vaccine Effectiveness

The Israel Ministry of Health, Pfizer, and BioNTech recently shared real-world evidence showing that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, elicited lower incidence rates of coronavirus in individuals who were fully vaccinated. Specifically, researchers found that vaccine effectiveness was at least 97 percent in preventing symptomatic disease, severe or critical disease, and death. Additionally, the analysis found vaccine effectiveness of 94 percent against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. READ MORE

Machine Learning Aids Clinical Decision-Making

At Carnegie Mellon University, researchers have developed a reproducible machine learning tool to facilitate clinical predictions and data visualization. The team designed Temporal Learning Lite (TL-Lite), a visualization and forecasting tool that aims to bridge the gap between clinical visualization and machine learning analysis.

“TL-Lite is a visualization tool designed to bring healthcare experts closer to machine learning,” said Jeremy Weiss, assistant professor of health informatics at CMU’s Heinz College. READ MORE

Financial Health Literacy Impacts Collections, Experience

Financial health literacy is one’s ability to navigate healthcare billing and financial responsibility. Patients with high financial health literacy will be able to make sense of their medical bills, determine what they owe and when they owe it, and will have the empowerment to negotiate their medical bills or enroll in a payment plan. Understanding how to best navigate patients through the financial experience will be critical, as reports continue to indicate that patient financial responsibility is growing. That, coupled with the rise of healthcare consumerism, will bring these elements of patient financial health literacy to the forefront. READ MORE

COVID’s Effect on Chronic Disease

Medicare chronic disease management became even more challenging during the coronavirus pandemic, a recent Commonwealth Fund study confirmed. Chronic conditions are common among Medicare beneficiaries and this has greatly influenced patient outcomes in the Medicare population during the pandemic. After conducting a literature review, the researchers found that, among the Medicare population that was hospitalized due to the coronavirus in 2020, 80 percent suffered from hypertension and 51 percent had a chronic kidney disease. READ MORE

Renal Health Gets a Boost from mHealth App

A newly developed mHealth app for chronic kidney disease (CKD) care improved patient engagement and medication adherence based on a new study published in CJASN. The interactive smartphone app, eKidneyCare, is synced with pharmacies and includes a feature that prompts CKD patients to review medications monthly. Then, the app sends any changes, additions, or medication problems to clinicians for resolution. Researchers measured the rate of medication discrepancy, finding that the eKidneyCare group had been successful in improving medication adherence. READ MORE