It’s been pretty crazy to experience this panic. Without a doubt, we’re living history right now.
The weirdest part to me has been witnessing the entire nation’s focus on the healthcare system. It’s rare that happens.
All of my usual news channels and segments have funneled into one singular subject: coronavirus. There’s no segmentation between digital health, must-reads, biz hits, policy corner, etc. So, until this whole crisis is over, this newsletter will be structured into one easy to read section.
Honestly, it’s been very difficult to parse through what’s an important development versus what’s fearmongering or click-bait/fake news. If something slipped through, I apologize in advance. But I take pride in only providing you guys with reputable, quality, unbiased sources for healthcare news.
On to this week’s news!
Coronavirus Live Updates:
- What to know now. (WSJ – free coverage – no paywall)
- The live total cases updates from Worldometers.info
- Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, old drugs used for malaria treatment, have shown limited promise in treating coronavirus.
The Disruption no one saw coming.
With a global pandemic on his hands, Trump declared a national emergency for the U.S. last week.
Ironically, the crisis may actually lead to forced change from the status quo in our healthcare system.
- It makes sense: what happens when you get stressed? You (typically) resort to your worst self. The healthcare system is stressed. Here are some ways that the system has already drastically changed:
Telehealth’s Breakthrough? And other Coronavirus winners.
With Trump easing access to telehealth, COVID-19 may actually be a black swan event for the industry and lead to widespread adoption.
- Teladoc’s stock surged on increased demand for virtual visits. UnitedHealth is expanding access to virtual care. Telehealth365 just made its platform free for 6 months. Teletherapy has been forced on outpatient clinics.
Other Coronavirus winners: Biotech firms working on COVID-19 treatments and vaccines like Moderna and Gilead have braved most of the recent market panic.
- Then there’s Zoom, Peloton, video game companies, and other consumer staples that have benefitted the most from the widespread shelter in place mandates.
State lines broken.
- Up to this point, physicians have had to get licensed in individual states. With telehealth needed in increasing situations, governments are easing licensing restrictions for physicians to practice across state lines.
Policy and Fiscal Stimulus Inbound
Congress is soon expected to pass a $2 trillion stimulus (the status of which is currently pending as they squabble), which would include higher inpatient payments to hospitals treating COVID-19 patients and greatly expanded telehealth access. The bill would also freeze Medicare payment reductions for the time being.
Deadlines pushed: HHS is considering pushing back its timeline for implementation of interoperability policy – I would expect this to happen soon.
Medicaid Expansion: In its stimulus package passed last week, Congress included increased funding ($100 billion altogether) for social safety net programs – a la, Medicaid. As mentioned, more fiscal stimuli to come.
Payment Models: With businesses suffering across the nation (and world), I would be curious to see if Medicare still goes through with certain reimbursement cuts and other payment models planned for the coming years (e.g., those physical therapy reimbursement cuts).
- We’re already seeing this take place on a smaller scale, with providers asking CMS to waive penalties associated with other kinds of reimbursement models.
Outpatient and Supply Chain Shutdowns.
Testing shortages, surgical mask shortages, some drug shortages, ventilator shortages, no more cotton swabs – all bad things. Good things: many non-healthcare manufacturers are stepping up to fill in the mask shortage gap.
- Outpatient closures: All types of therapy, elective surgeries, and all other non-essential procedures are cut off right now as the healthcare system tries to grapple with the viral outbreak
What’s the effect on health insurers?
Payors are fully covering the cost of testing, but treatment is still up in the air. As of now, they can’t estimate the impact of the coronavirus on medical loss ratios.
- Remember – even if medical costs rise due to COVID-19, elective surgeries, outpatient visits, therapy visits, and other “non-essential” medical services are grinding to a halt. We’ll see where costs end up on a net-net basis.
More Coronavirus stuff:
- Cases in China have slowed dramatically. No new cases were reported on March 18.
- Behind the scenes with drug makers racing to get COVID-19 treatments to market.
- There’s an app for that: It’ll tell you whether you’re near someone who was recently infected with the coronavirus.
- Italy just rushed 10,000 student doctors into service, scrapping the final exam.
Other Hits
- God bless Anthony Fauci.
- Photos. The quiet emptiness of a world under coronavirus.
- Banks pressure healthcare firms to raise prices.
Thought-Provoking Editorials
- Telehealth is overpromising during this pandemic. (Stat)
- The Medical Loss Ratio’s mixed record (ModernHealthcare)
- How are the rich and famous jumping the testing queues? (WSJ)
Thanks for reading.
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