News Briefs
Biden Places New Tariffs on Chinese Medtech Product Imports
The Biden administration announced its plan to increase tariffs on Chinese-made medical supplies as part of a broader push to tax imports from the rival nation. "These tariff rate increases will help support and sustain a strong domestic industrial base for medical supplies that were essential to the COVID-19 pandemic response, and continue to be used daily in every hospital across the country to deliver essential care," the factsheet says.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2024-05-20)
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Crackdown on Chinese Biotech Will Impact Drug Development in U.S.
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are expected to set in motion a massive reordering of how U.S. pharmaceuticals are developed and made, by advancing a contracting ban on five key Chinese research firms. It's a sign of how trade and national security concerns have spread from steel, semiconductors and TikTok to the life sciences, where U.S. biotechs and drugmakers are highly reliant on China for testing, ingredients, and, in some cases, manufacturing.
(Source: Axios, 2024-05-15)
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New APS Standards Likely to Increase Nursing Home Investigations
A new federal rule has opened the door for more state agencies to investigate nursing homes, but the first national standards for adult protective services also could make such services more accessible when providers need their help. The Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living finalized the first nationwide rules for APS programs, which identify and investigate the mistreatment or neglect of older adults and people with disabilities.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2024-05-17)
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NIOSH Publishes Wellbeing Guide to Help Prevent Physician Burnout
This year, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published the Impact Wellbeing Guide. It is a free online resource with six steps for hospital and healthcare system leaders to create long-term plans and promote workplace practices that contribute to worker wellness.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2024-05-20)
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Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation Tool Will Test Providers
Hospices will have a learning curve when it comes to implementing the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation Tool (HOPE) tool. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is currently developing quality measures that will be included in the HOPE tool, which will replace the current Hospice Item Set.
(Source: Hospice News, 2024-05-16)
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Audio-Only Telehealth Visits Fell to 25.4 Percent in 2022
Audio-only telehealth visits declined from 31 percent of all telehealth visits in 2020 to 25.4 percent in 2022, according to new research published in JAMA Health Forum. Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City conducted the study, assessing changes in audio-only telehealth use over time and determining which patients would most be affected by policy reforms.
(Source: mHealthIntelligence, 2024-05-20)
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More NPs Turning Away from Primary Care Toward Specialty Medicine
Increasingly, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are joining cardiology, dermatology, and other specialty practices, broadening their skills and increasing their income. This development worries some people who track the health workforce, because current trends suggest primary care, which has counted on nurse practitioners to backstop physician shortages, soon might not be able to rely on them to the same extent.
(Source: KFF Health News, 2024-05-17)
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Senate Working Group Releases Roadmap for AI Policy in Healthcare
The Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group released a roadmap for AI policy in the U.S. Senate, encouraging the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund cross-government artificial intelligence research and development projects, including research for biotechnology and applications of AI that would fundamentally transform medicine. Senators wrote that relevant committees should consider implementing legislation that supports AI deployment in the sector, while also implementing guardrails and safety measures to ensure patient safety while ensuring the regulations do not stifle innovation.
(Source: mobihealthnews, 2024-05-15)
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Subcommittee Passes Two-Year Medicare Telehealth Extension
The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health voted to pass a two-year Medicare telehealth extension along with other legislation that expands reimbursement for health tech. The sponsor of the telehealth extension bill, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Georgia), told Fierce Healthcare he sees no obstacles to the telehealth extension passing the full committee, nor any significant issues for Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means to come to an agreement on a two-year telehealth extension.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2024-05-17)
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Senate Committee Considers Medicare Physician Pay Reforms
The Senate Finance Committee recently released a white paper outlining where it sees opportunities to reform Medicare physician payment to improve the delivery of chronic care and improve the Physician Fee Schedule's value to clinicians and beneficiaries. Senators identified changes to Medicare fee-for-service through the Physician Fee Schedule and value-based care initiatives in Medicare Part B aimed at reducing overall healthcare spending and improving outcomes for beneficiaries.
(Source: RevCycle Intelligence, 2024-05-20)
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Lawmakers Introduce Pay PCPs Act to Support Primary Care
U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Dr. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) have introduced legislation, the Pay PCPs Act, to better support and improve pay for high-quality primary care providers by reforming how they get paid through Medicare. Whitehouse and Cassidy called primary care a "critical part" of the healthcare equation, citing evidence showing that primary care improves outcomes for patients and drives down healthcare costs.
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2024-05-16)
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