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Record number of rural hospital closures in 2020 highlights the financial, workforce shortage and patient volume challenges they face

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 8, 2022) –— The American Hospital Association today released a new report highlighting the variety of causes that resulted in 136 rural hospital closures from 2010 to 2021, and a record 19 closures in 2020 alone. These include many longstanding pressures, such as low reimbursement, staffing shortages, low patient volume and regulatory barriers, as well as the continued financial challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, expenses for labor, drugs, supplies and equipment have also increased dramatically, ultimately causing difficulties in maintaining access to care for people in rural communities.

“While many hospitals and health systems are facing unprecedented challenges, those faced in rural America are unique,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “We must ensure that hospitals have the support and flexibility they need to continue to be providers of critical services and access points for patients and communities.”

View videos from Julie Yaroch, D.O., president of ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital in Adrian, Mich., and Sean Fadale, president and CEO of Nathan Littauer Hospital and Nursing Home in Gloversville, N.Y., describing the current challenges facing rural hospitals and what Congress can do to provide these hospitals additional support.

Rural hospitals and health systems make up about 35% of all hospitals across the country and include critical access hospitals (no more than 25 acute care beds and more than 35 miles from the nearest hospital), frontier hospitals (six or fewer residents per square mile) and sole community hospitals (hospitals for Medicare beneficiaries in isolated communities), among other Medicare designations. Rural hospitals are major economic drivers, supporting one in every 12 rural jobs in the U.S. and contributing $220 billion in economic activity in their communities in 2020.

Despite facing ongoing challenges, a number of pathways exist for rural hospitals’ financial sustainability. In addition to policy solutions aimed at specific challenges to support rural hospitals in maintaining access to care for their communities, other approaches include flexible models of care, decreased regulatory burden, various partnership arrangements and state Medicaid expansion.

Importantly, the Medicare-dependent Hospital (MDH) and enhanced Low-volume Adjustment (LVA) programs provide vital support to rural hospitals to offset financial vulnerabilities associated with being geographically isolated and having low patient volumes. However, both of these critical programs are scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2022, without further action from Congress.

The AHA urges Congress to extend the MDH and LVA programs (Rural Hospital Support Act, S.4009, and Assistance for Rural Community Hospitals Act, H.R.8747) to allow rural hospitals to continue serving their local communities during this unprecedented time of sustained financial pressure and historic changes in care delivery.

A full copy of today’s report can be found on the AHA website here.

New AHA Report Finds Rural Hospital Closures Threaten Patient Access to Care as Hospitals Face a Range of Rising Pressures | AHA

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About the American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA advocates on behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners – including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers – and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides insight and education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.

Erica Carbajal 

Health officials in Harris County, Texas, said a resident with various severe illnesses who was also presumed to be positive for monkeypox died Aug. 28 at a local hospital. 

The official cause of death is unknown, and an autopsy report is expected in a few weeks, according to health officials. The Harris County health department said it is working with the CDC and state health department to determine whether monkeypox may have played a role in the person’s death. It’s unclear what other “various severe illnesses” the person had. 

“We are sharing this information to err on the side of transparency and to avoid potential misinformation about his case,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. 

Three more updates on the nation’s monkeypox outbreak: 

1. U.S. cases have surpassed 18,000, CDC data shows. Several major U.S. cities have seen early signs that the outbreak may be peaking. During an update on Aug. 26, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said while nationwide cases are still rising week over week, the rate at which they’re rising appears to be slowing. “We’re watching this with cautious optimism, and really hopeful that many of our harm-reduction messages and our vaccines are getting out there and working,” she said. 

2. HHS is investing $11 million to support production of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine. The funds will support the nation’s first “fill and finish” facility in Grand Rapids, Mich. Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing plant will put the product from the manufacturer, Bavarian Nordic, into 2.5 million vials. 

3. Physicians are seeing a broad presentation of monkeypox symptoms among patients, The New York Times reported Aug. 26. Physicians told the news outlet they have seen infected patients who don’t ever develop a rash characteristic of the disease, patients with pox or lesions as their only symptom, as well as cases where patients experience confusion and seizures. And some patients have had lesions that look more like mosquito bites or ingrown hairs rather than the large pustules typical of the infection. 

Texas health officials investigate US’ 1st possible monkeypox death: 4 updates (beckershospitalreview.com)

Andrew Cass 

Kaufman Hall experts said that 2022 is shaping up to be the worst year financially for U.S. hospitals and health systems since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Hospitals and health systems saw decreases in outpatient revenue and operating room time and increases in inpatient lengths of stay from June to July, according to Kaufman Hall’s most recent “National Hospital Flash Report” released Aug. 29. 

“Although hospitals saw gradual improvement in recent months, July reversed any gains hospitals saw this year,” the report stated. 

The report stated that hospitals are experiencing some of the worst margins since the start of the pandemic, but “they lack the federal funds to offset the damage.”

Hospitals hired more aggressively in July, but labor was still in high demand and prices rose accordingly, according to the report. Sicker patients also stayed in the hospital longer, driving up costs.

The report also stated that an increasing number of patients continue to choose ambulatory centers over hospital settings for surgical procedures, which is a “sign of a larger shift to ambulatory care and new ways of accessing care outside of the hospital.” 

Kaufman Hall Senior Vice President of Data and Analytics Erik Swanson said, “2022 has been, and will likely continue to be, a challenging year for hospitals and health systems, but it would not be prudent to focus on short-term solutions at the expense of long-term planning.”

“Hospitals and health systems must think strategically and make investments to strengthen performance toward long-term institutional goals despite the day-to-day financial challenges they experience,” he said. 

Read the full report here. 

Hospitals experiencing some of the worst margins since beginning of pandemic: Kaufman Hall (beckershospitalreview.com)

August 22, 2022 – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, today opened its largest single-use technology manufacturing site in Greater Nashville. The $105 million, 400,000-square-foot facility enables the company to help meet rapidly growing demand for the bioprocessing materials needed to produce vaccines and breakthrough therapies for cancer and other diseases. This new site is part of Thermo Fisher’s $650 million multi-year investment to expand its bioprocessing production capabilities.  

“Customers depend on our best-in-class technologies, services and expertise. This continued investment in bioprocessing manufacturing allows us to better serve them in delivering greater supply through scalable solutions,” said Daniella Cramp, senior vice president and president, bioproduction, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “As the largest single-use manufacturing site in Thermo Fisher’s network and one of the largest in the world, the Lebanon facility near Nashville enables customers to bring medicines to patients faster than ever before.”   

The Lebanon facility will manufacture customizable, single-use BioProcess Containers and fluid transfer assembly systems that are in high demand by biopharma companies. The completed site will include 92,000 square-feet of clean room and will also include a dedicated line for the recently released Thermo Scientific DynaDrive™ Bioreactor. The site location is bringing critical materials closer to biopharma customers in the region, with Nashville among the top ten fastest-growing biotech hubs in the U.S.1  

The Lebanon site currently employs approximately 300 people, and the completed facility will create 1,400 new jobs in roles across engineering, procurement, quality, warehousing, site leadership and more. This site is part of Thermo Fisher’s global bioprocessing supply network that expands across 100 countries to help ensure critical medicines reach patients. The Thermo Fisher network of sites have enabled more than 12 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses and partnered with customers to supply its technology and materials for many currently approved COVID vaccines and therapeutics.  

Learn More 

ANALYSIS  |  BY AMANDA SCHIAVO  |   AUGUST 01, 2022

Expenses are still weighing heavily on hospitals, health systems, and physician’s practices as the cost of care continues to rise.

Hospitals, health systems, and physician’s practices are still struggling under the weight of significant financial pressure, that the rise in patient volume and revenue can’t seem to outweigh.

The increase in patient volume and revenue has not been able to offset the historically high operating margins these organizations are facing, according to data from Kaufman Hall’s National Hospital Flash Report and Physician Flash Report. Hospitals, health systems, and physician’s practices dealt with negative margins in June for the sixth consecutive month this year.

“To say that 2022 has challenged healthcare providers is an understatement,” Erik Swanson, a senior vice president of data and analytics with Kaufman Hall, said in an email report. “It’s unlikely that hospitals and health systems can undo the damage caused by the COVID-19 waves of earlier this year, especially with material and labor costs at record highs this summer.”

The median Kaufman Hall year-to-date operating margin index for hospitals was -0.09% through June, for the sixth month of cumulative negative actual operating margins. However, the median change in operating margin in June was up 30.8% compared to May, but down 49.3% from June 2021.

Hospital revenues for June continued to trend upward, even as volumes evened out, according to the Kauffman Hall data. Organizations saw a 2.1% drop in patient length of stay. Both patient days and emergency department visits each dropped by 2.6% in June when compared to May. Hospital’s gross operating revenue was up 1.2% in June from May.

Expenses have been dragging down hospital margins for months, however, June saw a slight month-over-month improvement as total hospital expenses dropped 1.3%, despite this, year-over-year expenses are still up 7.5% from June 2021. Physician practices saw a drop in provider compensation, according to the Kaufman Hall data, however, this wasn’t enough to offset expenses. The competitive labor market for healthcare support staff resulted in a new high for total direct expense per provider FTE in Q2 2022 of $619,682—up 7% from the second quarter of 2021 and 12% from the second quarter of 2020.

“Given the trends in the data, physician practices need to focus on efficiency in the second half of 2022,” Matthew Bates, managing director and Physician Enterprise service line lead with Kaufman Hall, said in the email report. “Amid historically high expenses, shifting some services away from physicians to advanced practice providers like nurse practitioners or physician assistants could help rein in the costs of treating an increased patient load while taking some of the weight off the shoulders of physicians.”

Amanda Schiavo is the Finance Editor for HealthLeaders.

The American Heart Association will provide 700 rural hospitals with resources to promote consistent, timely evidence-based care

DALLAS, July 26, 2022 — A new three-year initiative by the American Heart Association® aims to eliminate rural health disparities by helping hospitals and clinicians provide high-quality, consistent, timely and appropriate evidence-based care.

People who live in rural communities live an average of three years fewer than urban counterparts and have a 40% higher likelihood of developing heart disease (14.2%) compared with their counterparts in small metropolitan (11.2%) and urban (9.9%) areas, a gap that has grown over the past decade.[1] Additionally, rural communities face a critical shortage of health care professionals, including public health workers, which negatively impacts care. This leaves many people vulnerable to increased morbidity and mortality that could be prevented with appropriate identification and treatment.

The American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, is launching its Rural Health Care Outcomes Accelerator to provide up to 700 rural hospitals with no-cost access to Get With The Guidelines® quality programs for coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. In addition, the American Heart Association will launch a rural recognition program for these hospitals to assist in communicating their commitment to care excellence with the communities they serve.

“Patients and health care professionals in rural areas face unique challenges and opportunities — this project aims to improve equitable cardiovascular care for all Americans, regardless of where they live,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, volunteer expert for the American Heart Association, co-author on “Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association” and co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Association will convene rural clinical experts and leaders over three years to develop and publish rural quality and outcomes research. Participating hospitals also will have access to professional education, an online rural community network that encourages peer-to-peer connection and provides resources to support model practice sharing, and collaborative innovation.

“This new initiative will help ensure all Americans living in rural areas have the best possible chance of survival and the highest quality of life attainable,” said Tim Putnam DHA, MBA, EMT, FACHE, volunteer expert for the American Heart Association, past president of the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) and former CEO of Mary Margaret Mary Health in Batesville, Indiana.

Addressing the unique health needs of people in rural America is critical to achieving the American Heart Association’s 2030 impact goal for equitably increasing healthy life expectancy nationwide. Innovative approaches like this are key to improving rural health across the nation.

Visit the Rural Health Care Outcomes Accelerator project website to learn more. Interested hospitals can sign up online to receive more information.

Additional Resources:

• 2020 Rural Health Presidential Advisory
• Press release – Public Health AmeriCorps to address health inequity in rural communities
• Press release – $9.3 million investment to expand rural health and stroke care

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through collaboration with numerous organizations, and powered by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for the public’s health and share lifesaving resources. The Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information for nearly a century. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.  

For Media Inquiries: 214-706-1173

Michelle Rosenfeld: 214-706-1099; michelle.rosenfeld@heart.org

For Public Inquiries: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)

heart.org and stroke.org

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[1] American Heart Association issues call to action for addressing inequities in rural health. February 10, 2020. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/american-heart-association-issues-call-to-action-for-addressing-inequities-in-rural-health; American Heart Association. Public Health AmeriCorps to address health inequity in rural communities. April 6, 2022. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/public-health-americorps-to-address-health-inequity-in-rural-communities.

The advanced tools and technologies enable improved flexibility and productivity for diagnostics development and support advanced allergy and autoimmune testing and drug monitoring

CHICAGO, July 25, 2022 – AACC 2022 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, is showcasing innovative diagnostic technologies, assays and a complement of solutions for researchers developing new diagnostics. During the 74th American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Scientific Meeting and Clinical Laboratory Exposition (AACC 2022), being held at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, July 2428, Thermo Fisher is exhibiting within booth #1413.

“Our latest platform and workflow innovations give clinical laboratories and researchers greater flexibility and assurance as they respond to new and existing diagnostic challenges,” said Gianluca Pettiti, executive vice president, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “By minimizing hands-on time, reducing time-to-results, and improving analytical performance, we’re enabling the science that shapes the future of diagnostics, as we all work toward improving patient outcomes.”

Enabling Clinical Research Lab Agility and Responsiveness
The Applied Biosystems TaqMan-SARS-CoV-2 Mutation Panel* enables labs to build their own custom panel from a menu of verified real-time PCR assays. This meets the evolving needs of customers and public health agencies seeking to rapidly identify and survey current mutations as well as emerging variants.

To support labs as they move beyond COVID testing, Thermo Fisher is evolving its respiratory testing menu and improving automation to accelerate research. The Applied Biosystems TaqPath COVID-19, Flu A, Flu B Combo Kit** helps labs expand their existing COVID-19 testing menu for respiratory samples while maintaining workflow simplicity and without increasing operational costs.

Also featured at AACC is the new Thermo Scientific KingFisher SpeciTRAX Sample Transfer System, which provides researchers in infectious diseases and genetics with an automated sample-handling system, including new features, such as an automated decapper, that relieve the sample processing bottleneck for increased throughput.

A new interface with the Inpeco S.A.’s FlexLab Total Laboratory Automation system (TLA), enables primary tubes on the Inpeco LAS to be transported directly to the Thermo Scientific Cascadion SM Clinical Analyzer*** for automated loading, pre-treatment and analysis. This first-of-its-kind integration enables fully automated, gold-standard LC-MS/MS technology to improve clinical lab productivity.

New Technology and Assays
The Thermo Scientific DRI Fentanyl II Drugs of Abuse Assay*** is now available on medium to high-throughput instruments, including the Indiko Plus and Mindray BS-480, Mindray BA-800M. Labs of any size can now accurately test for multiple drugs of abuse at high volume using fully automated analyzers. Thermo Fisher’s broad and complementary offering of screening to confirmatory solutions also includes the Thermo Scientific Tox Explorer Collection, an all-in-one LC-MS/MS solution for toxicology.

Enhanced Allergy and Autoimmune Testing
The Thermo Scientific EliA RNA Pol III and EliA Rib-P*** tests have received U.S. FDA clearance for aiding in the diagnosis of Systemic Sclerosis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. These tests are part of a broader EliA portfolio of connective tissue disease tests that help provide a clearer clinical picture for patients.

*The Applied Biosystems Taqman-SARS-CoV-2 Mutation Panel and Thermo Scientific KingFisher SpeciTRAX Sample Transfer System are “For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.”
**The Applied Biosystems TaqPath COVID-19, Flu A, Flu B Combo Kit is “ For Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) Only. For prescription use only. For in vitro diagnostic use.”
***The Thermo Scientific Cascadion SM Clinical Analyzer , the Thermo Scientific DRI Fentanyl II Drugs of Abuse Assay and the Thermo Scientific EliA RNA Pol III and EliA Rib-P are “For In Vitro Diagnostic Use.”

Workshops at AACC

Thermo Fisher is hosting multiple workshops during AACC designed to give attendees more in-depth information on the applications and benefits of its advanced solutions.

Thinking Beyond the Test workshop is a workshop that broadly discusses the role of clinical laboratories in impacting patient care. The workshop is on Tuesday, July 26 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Regency Ballroom B.Register here.

MAS Controls Ortho VITROS Users Group Meeting features a discussion on how Thermo Scientific MAS Quality Controls – using LabLink software on Ortho VITROS platforms – can help enhance productivity, improve clinical outcomes and reduce costs. The workshop is on Tuesday, July 26 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Regency C and D. Register here.

LC-MS/MS as a First Line Screening Assay workshop will discuss how the use of LC-MS/MS for early diagnosis is imperative for early treatment and disease prevention. The workshop is on Wednesday, July 27 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Regency Ballroom E. Register here.

From COVID-19 and Beyond workshop covers the benefits of PCR and multiplex testing as the industry moves beyond COVID. This workshop is on Wednesday, July 27, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Regency Ballroom C. Register here.

For more information on all the Thermo Fisher products and solutions exhibited at AACC 2022, please visit: thermofisher.com/aacc.

About Thermo Fisher

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue of approximately $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

Mindray expands its portfolio with a new innovative, dedicated OB/GYN ultrasound machine, the Imagyn I9.

Mahwah, N.J. – June 28, 2022 – Mindray, a global leader and developer of healthcare technologies and solutions for ultrasound, patient monitoring, and anesthesia, announced the launch of a new ultrasound product to address the unique demands of busy OB/GYN practices — the Imagyn I9 Ultrasound Machine. The Imagyn I9 Ultrasound System is Mindray’s first dedicated OB/GYN product slated to meet the rigorous demands of OB/GYN practices. The new system has unique design elements that focus on usability and ergonomics within the OB/GYN space, including elevated transducer ports, a fully free-floating user interface, and customizable E-Ink keys.

Powered by Mindray’s revolutionary ZONE Sonography® Technology+ (ZST+) and leveraging AI-enhanced technologies, the Imagyn I9 Ultrasound System uses auto clinical scenario identification and automation at every point, from imaging optimization to planes acquisition, quantification, and creating an automated workflow. The Imagyn I9 Ultrasound System provides a full-stack smart solution for efficient women’s health, covering wide-ranging applications from pre-pregnancy to obstetric to post-partum.

“As we continue to strengthen our position in women’s health, the addition of the Imagyn I9 Ultrasound Machine shows our dedication to advance medical technologies to make healthcare more accessible,” said Wayne Quinn, President of Mindray North America. Quinn continued, “We are pleased to introduce the first dedicated OB/GYN ultrasound system powered by our revolutionary ZST+. This milestone will tremendously impact women’s health clinicians and empower them to deliver high-quality care with peace of mind.”

Mindray develops meaningful ultrasound solutions to help clinicians provide timely answers and elevate patient care. Mindray’s innovative, accessible ultrasound machines deliver exceptional image quality with a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced technologies to help clinicians improve reproducibility, optimize productivity, and achieve consistency. The Imagyn I9 Ultrasound System features innovative design elements such as an intelligent iConsole control panel, a 2-hour continuous scanning battery, and quiet operation. Breaking the mold of conventional ultrasound systems and bringing ease-of-use and ergonomics into the limelight, the Imagyn I9 Ultrasound System provides an entirely new experience driven by innovation.

Imagyn I9 Ultrasound System Advanced Technologies Highlights:

• Sound Speed Compensation (SSC): Automatically detects and analyzes different tissue characteristics to determine and apply the optimal sound speed needed for improved image quality. This unique, one-touch, intelligent algorithm improves lateral, spatial, and contrast resolution and imaging at depth.
• Glazing Flow: Provides optimal visualization by intuitively and dynamically displaying a 3D effect to blood flow with high definition and clarity, especially for tiny and overlapping vessels. This technology can also be applied post-processing.
• Smart Face: Delivers a fast and intelligent optimization for fetal face with a simple one-touch operation. It can immediately remove occlusions such as cord, placenta, uterus, and extremities in the volume data to generate an optimal view of the fetal face, reducing the need for time-consuming manual adjustments.
• Smart Planes CNS: Provides a robust and user-friendly solution to automatically detect planes and calculate frequently used measurements of the central nervous system (CNS) in fetal brain examinations with one-touch. By automating these measurements, exam times decrease, allowing more time to focus on anatomy.

The Imagyn I9 Ultrasound is available immediately through Mindray’s trusted partners. Mindray’s ultrasound solutions, including the Imagyn I9, command the industry’s best investment protection and total cost of ownership with a standard 5-year warranty and Mindray’s exclusive Living Technology™ promise that provides customers with easily upgradable software enhancements. Through innovative solutions like the Imagyn I9, Mindray continues to drive its mission forward, advancing medical technologies to make healthcare more accessible.

About Mindray

Mindray is a leading developer, manufacturer, and supplier of medical device solutions and technologies used in healthcare facilities around the globe. We believe we can change lives by making the most advanced healthcare technology attainable for all. We do this by empowering healthcare professionals through innovative, high-value solutions that help create the next generation of life-saving tools across three primary business segments: patient monitoring and life support, in-vitro diagnostics, and medical imaging. Mindray maintains its global headquarters in Shenzhen, China; Mindray North America is headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey. Our Ultrasound Innovation Center is located in San Jose, California with additional facilities in major international markets around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.mindray.com.

Despite a spike in infections earlier this year, U.S. officials opted to guard the institutions’ names, citing privacy.

One concern held by some federal health officials is that the disclosure could embarrass hospitals and lead them to stop reporting their information. | Mario Tama/Getty Images

By RACHAEL LEVY

06/25/2022 07:00 AM EDT

The Biden administration during the Omicron wave considered publicly releasing data detailing how prevalent Covid-19 spread was inside individual hospitals, but ultimately chose to keep that information private, according to two people familiar with the discussions

The decision to withhold the names, based partly on concerns about duplicative data and partly on fears of embarrassing hospitals, denies patients the opportunity to steer clear of health systems with poor track records and allows facilities to avoid public scrutiny, patient advocates say.

Covid cases and hospitalizations have fallen from their winter peak and the administration pushes personal responsibility to combat infection, but many disability-rights advocates are encouraging the government to make the information public, arguing it is necessary to make safe choices, especially for people with chronic conditions and weakened immune systems.

“Not knowing what the likelihood of getting transmission in the hospital really impacts an individual’s ability to quote unquote ‘make a personal decision’ on their risk levels,” said Mia Ives-Rublee, a disability rights advocate who has a lung condition that makes her more susceptible to Covid.

Over the four weeks ending June 19, U.S. hospitals reported an average of 1,457 patients per week had caught Covid during their stay, according to a POLITICO analysis of data from the Department of Health and Human Services. That follows a record month in January when more than 3,000 patients each week were infected while in the hospital.

Though the higher numbers have subsided, the risk remains real for a subset of the population with compromised immune systems who must weigh getting check-ups and treatments for potentially serious issues “versus maybe getting Covid and ending up on the ventilator,” Ives-Rublee said.

In a March meeting with the CDC, Ives-Rublee and other patient advocates requested more transparency on hospitals’ transmission, but the conversations went nowhere, she said.

“We are frustrated with the lack of progress that we’ve seen in terms of addressing concerns for folks who are extremely at risk for Covid,” Ives-Rublee said.

Other advocates told POLITICO they intend to keep pressing the administration ahead of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts could be another fall surge in Covid cases.

“A majority of voters want HHS to level with us – tell us how much coronavirus is spreading in the particular hospital we go to,” said Matthew Cortland, an immunocompromised disability rights activist who ran a recent poll on the issue for Data for Progress, a left-leaning think tank. “But that transparency is inconvenient for the powerful hospital lobby.”

The American Hospital Association wants facilities’ infection numbers to stay private. “Reporting aggregate data is the most appropriate approach given the very low occurrence of hospital onset COVID-19,” Nancy Foster, an executive with the AHA, said in a statement.

Throughout the pandemic, many hospitals chose not to implement measures that could have dramatically decreased transmission, according to workers, health executives and patients around the country.

Many facilities no longer require masks for visitors or staff, despite CDC recommendations. Even where masks are required, workers and visitors usually don surgical masks, among the least protective ones available, instead of N95s. Hospitals follow CDC guidelines, which allow Covid-positive staff to return while infectious. Industry executives insist their protocols are adequate and that some Covid transmission is inevitable; the AHA says hospitals’ measures are generally safe.

U.S. health officials have debated the merits of identifying hospitals’ infections since the Trump administration began collecting the information in 2020, according to three current and former officials who were granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal deliberations.

The figures only include patients who test positive after a minimum hospital stay of 14 days to ensure a patient didn’t contract the virus before admission. The government’s tallies are likely less than the total because hospitals don’t report people who test positive after being discharged.

Trump-era officials decided to keep hospitals’ names private, fearing that outing them might discourage people from seeking health care, according to two former health officials, one of whom worked in the Trump and Biden administrations. Also, a Trump HHS spokesperson confirmed the thinking.

But more than two years into the pandemic, with the availability of vaccines and treatments, Biden officials no longer worry that most patients are avoiding care, according to one of the people involved in more recent discussions. Some U.S. health officials want the same kind of transparency that exists for other hospital-acquired infections, they say. For years, the U.S. government has collected patient infection rates for various pathogens and published scores for each hospital on a website for patients.

Yet the CDC and Office of the Assistant Secretary Preparedness and Response, the two agencies that could make the data public, have declined to release it. POLITICO filed freedom of information requests in April but federal officials have not yet provided the records.

A HHS spokesperson said in a statement the agency wouldn’t release the names for “privacy concerns” but declined to specify what the privacy concerns were.

One concern held by some federal health officials is that the disclosure could embarrass hospitals and lead them to stop reporting their information, according to one U.S. health official who has discussed the matter with the CDC and CMS. But, that concern isn’t universally held.

Some CDC officials have argued internally that the information — as hospitals currently provide it — is not a good measure of risk, according to two CDC officials who have reviewed the data, who were granted anonymity to speak about internal debates. That’s because facilities report snapshots each day of the number of patients who currently have hospital-acquired Covid, meaning some patients are counted again in the following days as they remain in the facility.

The CDC didn’t respond to comment requests.

Allan James Vestal contributed to this report.

Biden officials to keep private the names of hospitals where patients contracted Covid – POLITICO

Paige Twenter – Updated Friday, June 24th, 2022

Medicare recipients could have saved up to $3.6 billion on generic drug costs in 2020 if Medicare paid the same prices as investor Mark Cuban’s pharmacy, according to a study published June 20 in Annals of Internal Medicine. Mr. Cuban tweeted the results, urging President Joe Biden and other elected officials to “have your people call my people and let’s get this done.”

The pharmacy, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co., has quickly gained speed from about 100 generic drugs at its launch in January to more than 700 generic drugs six months later. 

The researchers from the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics and Law at Boston-based Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital identified 89 generic drugs for which they could compare prices between Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. and Medicare Part D plans.

If Medicare Part D plans matched Mr. Cuban’s prices for 77 of the 89 generic drugs, 37 percent of Medicare’s $9.6 billion 2020 drug costs could have been slashed, the study found. Twelve drugs did not cost less. 

The researchers found the best results with esomeprazole, a drug that treats acid reflux heartburn, which could have saved CMS up to $293 million if Medicare paid the same amount as Cost Plus Drug Co. Medicare paid $1.77 per pill. Cost Plus Drug Co. gets it for $0.19. 

Cost Plus Drug Co. sells its products with a $3 pharmacy dispensing fee, $5 shipping fee and a 15 percent profit margin. 

“Our sole mission is to be the low-cost drug provider for as many drugs as we can possibly offer,” Mr. Cuban told Becker’s. “That is counter to most business interests, particularly over a long period of time.”

‘Let’s get this done,’ Mark Cuban tells Biden on Medicare savings study (beckershospitalreview.com)