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What We’re Reading: 70% of US Vaccinated; CMS Payment Rules Released; Alcohol Consumption and Cancer
Seventy percent of Americans have received at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine; CMS releases payment rules for fiscal year 2022; alcohol linked to over 700,000 new cancer diagnoses in 2020.
US Meets Biden's Vaccine Goal 1 Month Late
One month after President Biden’s set goal of vaccinating 70% of eligible Americans against COVID-19, the country met this threshold as the delta variant continues to sweep throughout states, The Associated Press reports. The president had originally hoped to have 70% of Americans receive at least 1 dose of the vaccine by July 4, and the country is still 8.5 million people short of its previous goal of fully vaccinating 165 million Americans. Meanwhile, new COVID-19 cases per day have increased 6-fold over the past month and most deaths and serious illness are among the unvaccinated.
Hospitals to Get Payment Boosts
CMS’ 2022 inpatient pay rule stipulates providers will no longer have to disclose their contract terms with Medicare Advantage insurers, Modern Healthcare reports. Thanks to the rule, providers will receive a 2.5% increase for inpatient service payments, amounting to $2.3 billion more than in 2021. In addition, long-term care hospitals will receive a 1.1% raise, or $42 million, while the rule will extend add-on payments for new COVID-19 treatments through the end of the fiscal year. It also mandates hospitals submit data on several measures to identify emerging COVID-19 outbreaks, according to Fierce Healthcare.
Alcohol Linked With Cancer Diagnoses in 2020
Data published in The Lancet Oncology found that over 700,000 new cancer cases were linked to alcohol consumption in 2020, CBS News reports. Specifically, analyses revealed over 4% of all new cancer cases in 2020 were caused by alcohol consumption, and although most were in those who consumed more than 2 drinks per day, over 100,00 cases globally were in individuals who averaged less than that. In 2020, many Americans turned to alcohol when COVID-19 led to nationwide shutdowns. In the analyses, most cancers identified were among men and were of the liver and esophagus, while breast cancer was most common among women.
Varied Access: The Pharmacogenetic Testing Coverage Divide
February 18th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of a study published in the February 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® to uncover significant differences in coverage decisions for pharmacogenetic tests across major US health insurers.
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Texas Oncology to Roll Out Canopy for ePROs After Head-to-Head Pilot
March 18th 2025Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Public Policy and Strategy for Texas Oncology, said the practice received positive feedback from nurses and patients during a pilot that concluded in February.
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More Care Doesn't Equal Happier Patients in Traditional Medicare
March 17th 2025Data on care satisfaction, ease managing care, and out-of-pocket spending were the outcomes of interest for this new analysis that investigated the relationship between healthcare utilization and beneficiary experience within traditional Medicare.
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The Impact of Cost Sharing on High-Value Care
March 14th 2025Michael Chernew, PhD, professor of health care policy and director of the Healthcare Markets and Regulation Lab, Harvard Medical School, shares how cost-sharing policies shape access to critical health care services and influence value-based insurance design.
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