| This Week’s News | | It’s been 33 years since the federal government began requiring hospitals to take in patients after stabilization in the ED if the case called for admission and the hospital had the clinical expertise to provide the extended care. Yet Medicaid patients and the uninsured still have higher odds of getting transferred than those with high-quality insurance plans. It’s been 33 years since the federal government began requiring hospitals to take in patients after stabilization in the ED if the case called for admission and the hospital had the clinical expertise to provide the extended care. Yet Medicaid patients and the uninsured still have higher odds of getting transferred than those with high-quality insurance plans. | |
| In a series of late-night tweets published April 1, President Trump suggested Republicans’ proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act will be put to a vote after the 2020 election, edging healthcare out of the spotlight just a week after his administration backed a federal judge’s ruling to invalidate the whole law. In a series of late-night tweets published April 1, President Trump suggested Republicans’ proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act will be put to a vote after the 2020 election, edging healthcare out of the spotlight just a week after his administration backed a federal judge’s ruling to invalidate the whole law. | |
| Nearly a quarter of heart failure patients discharged after rehabbing in skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs) are bound to get readmitted to hospitals within 30 days of going home. And those whose stay at the SNF two days or fewer are up to four times more likely to be readmitted than those who stay longer. Nearly a quarter of heart failure patients discharged after rehabbing in skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs) are bound to get readmitted to hospitals within 30 days of going home. And those whose stay at the SNF two days or fewer are up to four times more likely to be readmitted than those who stay longer. | |
| The creators of CMS’s Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating ratings system—aka “Hospital Compare”—intended to present healthcare consumers with an easy, user-friendly way to choose a hospital. However, since the ratings went live in 2016, the system has proven both confusing to consumers and confounding to hospitals. The creators of CMS’s Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating ratings system—aka “Hospital Compare”—intended to present healthcare consumers with an easy, user-friendly way to choose a hospital. However, since the ratings went live in 2016, the system has proven both confusing to consumers and confounding to hospitals. | |
| | A federal judge rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to expand access to association health plans March 29, throwing small businesses that rely on those plans into a state of uncertainty, the Washington Post reported. A federal judge rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to expand access to association health plans March 29, throwing small businesses that rely on those plans into a state of uncertainty, the Washington Post reported. | |
| Two United Nations agencies have joined forces to create the Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health (FG-AI4H)—a group of global representatives the UN hopes will help shape a streamlined, transparent process for vetting AI technologies in the healthcare space. Two United Nations agencies have joined forces to create the Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health (FG-AI4H)—a group of global representatives the UN hopes will help shape a streamlined, transparent process for vetting AI technologies in the healthcare space. | |
| Women physicians who work in reproductive health for women earn an average $67,000 less per year than men working in the same field. The pay gap cuts across subspecialties within it, such as reproductive endocrinology, and it holds even after adjusting for years of experience, hours worked and other variables. Women physicians who work in reproductive health for women earn an average $67,000 less per year than men working in the same field. The pay gap cuts across subspecialties within it, such as reproductive endocrinology, and it holds even after adjusting for years of experience, hours worked and other variables. | |
| | Amid a national debate over whether or not to dissolve the Affordable Care Act entirely or keep parts of the law intact, research presented at the American Heart Association’s QCOR Scientific Sessions on April 5 suggests Medicaid expansion contributed to a significant decline in cardiovascular-related deaths in recent years. Amid a national debate over whether or not to dissolve the Affordable Care Act entirely or keep parts of the law intact, research presented at the American Heart Association’s QCOR Scientific Sessions on April 5 suggests Medicaid expansion contributed to a significant decline in cardiovascular-related deaths in recent years. | |
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