Literature Review

100 Most influential people in healthcare - 2023Modern Healthcare; 1/23/24The 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare awards & recognition program honors individuals in healthcare who are deemed by their peers and the senior editors of Modern Healthcare to be the most influential individuals in the industry, in terms of leadership and impact.

FTC sues to block proposed CHS-Novant hospital saleModern Healthcare, by Alex Kacik; 1/25/24The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued to block Novant Health’s planned $320 million acquisition of two North Carolina hospitals from Community Health Systems, alleging the deal could increase costs and reduce care quality. In February, CHS and Novant signed a definitive acquisition agreement involving Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville and Davis Regional Medical Center in Statesville, which is transitioning from an acute-care hospital to an inpatient behavioral health facility.

Medicare Advantage plans face new rate cut under CMS proposalModern Healthcare, by Nona Tepper; 1/31/24The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is calling for another reduction in the Medicare Advantage base payment rate, which could further challenge health insurers struggling with rising costs. Under a proposed rule issued Wednesday, the Medicare Advantage benchmark would be 0.16% less in calendar 2025 than under current policy, excluding risk adjustment, and would mark a second consecutive year of a lower benchmark rate. The agency plans to finalize the rule by April 1.

AHRQ Stats: Largest Declines in Life ExpectancyAHRQ News Now; 2/6/24Between 2019 and 2021, the average life expectancy for non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native people declined by 9.2 percent, the most among any group. Average life expectancy declined by 5.3 percent for Black people, 5.1 percent for Hispanic people, 3 percent for White people, and 2.5 percent for Asian people. (Source: 2023 AHRQ National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report.)

Rural hospitals caught in aging-facility dilemma Lexington Herald Leader, by Markian Hawryluk; 2/6/24... Rural hospital closures dropped during the pandemic, from a record-high 18 in 2020 to eight in 2021 and 2022 combined, according to the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, as emergency relief funds kept them open. But that life support has ended.

Transforming value-based dementia care—Implications for the GUIDE ModelJAMA Intern. Med; by Tarun Ramesh; Kushal Kadakia, MS; Lidia Moura, MD, MPH, PhD; 2/5/24Dementia disproportionately affects older adults and represents an increasingly difficult population health and financial challenge for Medicare. Annual spending for Medicare beneficiaries with dementia is approximately 3 times higher than that for patients without dementia, with excess costs attributable to substantial fragmentation across the care journey. Patients with dementia experience polypharmacy and frequent hospitalizations and require careful coordination across multiple specialty health care professionals with support from unpaid caregivers. However, traditional fee-for-service (FFS) payment models may not adequately support costly medical and social needs for patients with dementia and their unpaid caregivers.Editor's Note: Full access requires subscription or other online library access to JAMA.

Cigna to sell Medicare business to HCSC for $3.3BBecker's Payer Issues, by Rylee Wilson; 1/31/24The Cigna Group reached a deal to sell its Medicare business to Health Care Service Corp. for $3.3 billion. According to a Jan. 31 news release from Cigna, the sale includes Cigna's Medicare Advantage, supplemental benefits, Medicare Part D offerings, and CareAllies, a value-based care management subsidiary.

Patient-centered focus is key to reducing hospitalizations, value-based success, experts sayMcKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 2/6/24To keep hospitalization rates low — and thereby produce better results within the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) model — providers need a good understanding of patients’ goals to tailor care to meet their unique wants and needs. ... Keeping these goals at the forefront of care can reduce their chances of being hospitalized, according to Cindy Campbell, senior director of advisory services at healthcare technology firm WellSky. But defining patients’ goals is not just a recommendation, she noted: It’s mandated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Predicting private equity’s involvement in home health care in 2024Home Health Care News, by Patrick Filbin; 2/2/24Health care’s share of global private-equity (PE) deal count peaked at 13.7% in 2020. Three years later, that number fell to 10.8% — its lowest level since 2015. Compared to the bustling activity of 2021, home-based care dealmaking was mostly sluggish in 2023 and has followed that same trend.

The first 8 hospitals to attain Joint Commission's equity certificationBecker's Clinical Leadership, by Ashleigh Hollowell; 2/2/24Eight hospitals have achieved The Joint Commission's new health equity certification, which the accrediting organization rolled out in July. Key components of the certification require hospitals to make "health care equity a strategic priority and are collaborating with patients, families, caregivers and external organizations to identify and address needs that help translate equitable health care into better health outcomes," Jonathan Perlin, MD, PhD, president and CEO of The Joint Commission Enterprise, said in a June 27 news release just days before the program launched.

Northern Light Health works to get back online after computer server breachMainebiz, by William Hall; 2/5/24Maine's second-largest health care system, Northern Light Health, said on Monday part of its computer network remained down after servers were discovered Saturday to have been breached. Nothern Light Health comprises 10 hospitals including 411-bed Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor; over 1,000 physicians; six home care and hospice centers; and a total of more than 120 care locations.

Hospice of the Plains annual hog roast draws big crowdNews Channel Nebraska, by Forrest Hershberger; 2/4/24Hospice of the Plains supporters took part in the 21st annual hog roast an auction hosted by the Sterling Elks Club February 3. The annual event is one of the major fundraisers for the organization, according to Tiffany Storch, CEO/Administrator of Hospice of the Plains.

The last leaf on the vine: What is lost when a generation passes away Inside Higher Ed, by Steven Mintz; 2/6/24... For my extended family, my mother is (or was, depending on when you read this piece) the last leaf on the vine, the last surviving member of a generation born in the 1920s that personally recalls the hardships of the Great Depression and the disruptions, upheavals, sacrifices and horrors of World War II. And that leaf is poised to fall.