Announcements & News

Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia
3040 Williams Drive, Suite 200
Fairfax, Virginia 22031  

Email: [email protected]

More . . .

HSANV staff are on a hybrid schedule and telecommute most days. HSANV is located within the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) offices.

Virginia COPN Program:

• Virginia (State) COPN Website
• Contact Information COPN
• COPN Application Batching Schedule

Note: Application materials for a Certificate of Need are obtained through the Virginia’s state DCOPN program office and can be downloaded from the state website. Applications for proposed facilities and/or services in Health Planning Region II/Planning District 8 are submitted to both the state offices and to the HSANV offices.

2024 Virginia Legislative Session

• Virginia LIS
• Senate Education and Health
• House Health & Human Services

 Virginia Health Information (VHI)

Of Interest

 Virginia General Assembly

Facility Profiles:

Hospital inpatient utilization profiles for all  Virginia acute care hospitals:

• Northern Virginia Hospitals
• Northwesten, Southwest, Central & Eastern Virginia Hospitals

County Profiles:

Inpatient acute care patient use profiles for all Virginia residents by county of residence:

• Northern Virginia Counties
• Northwesten, Southwest, Central & Eastern Virgnia Counties

NVA Demographic Quick Facts for NVA Counties

• 2015 estimates
• 2017 estimates
• 2019 estimates
• 2020 Census/2020 5 Year ACS

 Trend Charts Virginia Health Planning Regions:

• Acute Care Hospitals: 1980 - 2016
• Nursing Homes: 1980 - 2016

Also On the Site

Virginia Total  Population (US Census)

 Total population by Health Planning Regions, Planning Districts and Counties/Independent Cities  2020-2022

More . . .

Map of Virginia’s Health Planning Regions

& Planning Districts

 Virginia Legislature Information System

Historic Inpatient Trends:

Beds, Days, Occupancy and ED Visits

• Virginia, Health Planning Regions and National Comparisons (Powerpoint File)

Economic Population Demographics

• Northern Virginia Comparative Economic Characteristics 2015 - 2019 ACS by County (Excel Workbook)

Leading Causes of Death

Leading Causes of Death with tables by PD/County/Independent City for Virginia residents (Excel)

Leading Causes of Death Charts Northern Virginia, Virginia rand United Stated 2010-2019 (PDF)

Covid-19: Data Charts (PDF)

• Northern Virginia & Virginia Cumulative Cases, Deaths and Hospitalizations (Updated thru  02/07/2023)
• Northern Virginia & Virginia Daily Cases, Deaths and Hospitalizations (Updated  thru 02/7/2023)
• Northern Virginia & Virginia Vaccine Doses Administered (Updated  thru 01/31/2023)
• All Charts with Summary Tables (Updated as of 02/07/2023)

Vital Statistics Summary Table for NVA Jurisdictions

October 2024

HSANV Board of Directors Meeting *

Monday, October 7,2024

7:30 PM

Note: There are no COPN Applications up for review at the October 7th meeting.

Meeting materials are emailed to the Board and will be posted below for download in a zip compressed file. Phone access for the meeting will be posted above the public notice.

*Meetings held at:

3040 Williams Drive, 2nd Floor NVRC Conference Room Fairfax VA 22031

Download materials for the most recent Board of Directors meetings:

Meeting Package October 7, 2024

Meeting Package September 9,2024

Meeting Package June 17, 2024

Meeting Package May 6, 2024

Approved Minutes from HSANV Board Meetings are avaialbe for download (PDF)

• Why this CEO is worried about private equity in Medicaid (Beckers)

• Payers Are Putting Profit Over Patients with Denials and Prior Auth Policies (Med City News)

• Colorado patient advocates call for action on ’hidden’ hospital fees after state report’s release (Durango Herald)

• Acquisitions work as a one-time efficiency boost for hospital margins: study (Health Care Dive)

• At-home hospital care popular with patients and clinicians, but data backing quality, costs are limited, CMS finds (Fierce Health)

• Health risks rising in mountain areas flooded by Hurricane Helene and cut off from clean water, power, hospitals (Medical Xpress)

• Most accurate ultrasound test could detect 96% of women with ovarian cancer (EurekaAlert)

• Officials break ground on two new hospital sites that will replace existing Inova Alexandria Hospital (Fairfax Times)

• Wyden and Warner Introduce Bill to Set Strong Cybersecurity Standards for American Health Care System (Senate.Gov) & Legislation to Stop Labor and Delivery Unit Closures in Rural and Underserved Communities (Senate.Gov)

• Humana's stock stumbles after it reveals 2025 Medicare Advantage star ratings drop (Fierce Health)

• Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Payments Will Total at Least $11.8 Billion in 2024 (KFF)

• New California law mandates notice for hospital unit closures (Beckers)

• California sues 2nd hospital in a week (Beckers)

• Iowa State Auditor finds nursing home inspections are failing federal standards (KAAL)

• Opinion: Rob Sand’s Iowa nursing homes report should be a call to action (The Gazette)

• Vulnerable seniors + troves of data make LTC facilities prime targets for bad cyber actors (McKnights)

• Kentucky sues Express Scripts, alleging it helped fuel state’s opioid crisis (The Hill)

• Senate approves criminal contempt resolution against Steward Health Care CEO (AP)

• Steward CEO sues senators day before he steps down (Health Care Dive)

• Oregon's hospital price cap policy cuts patients' out-of-pocket costs, bumps utilization (Fierce Health)

• Predictive Tools in Charity Care—Revenue vs Access (JAMA Network)

• Consumer Out-Of-Pocket Drug Prices Grew Faster Than Prices Faced By Insurers After Accounting For Rebates, 2007–20 (Health Affairs)

• Report: More than one-third of nursing homes don’t have required medical director (McKnights)

• Association chief disputes study finding that thousands of nursing homes didn’t have a medical director in 2023 (McKnights)

• Rep. Lori Trahan calls for more transparency in the wake of Steward hospital closures (CBS)

• Hospital Margins Stabilizing, But Don't Let Up On Cost Containment (Health Leaders)

• Employers expect 2025 health care cost trends to rise 8% (Bennefits Pro)

• More than one-fifth of insurers failed to pay No Surprises awards last year, provider lobby says (Health Care Dive)

• Federal judge blocks FTC's nationwide noncompete ban (Fierce Health)

• Value-Based Payment and Vanishing Small Independent Practices (JAMA Network)

• Urgent care or ER? With ‘one-stop shop,’ hospitals offer both under same roof (WP)

• CT health insurance costs out of control, commissioners say as insurers seek increases again (Hartford Courant)

• Study finds sex-based disparities in outcomes after cardiac surgery (MedicalXpress)

• Private Equity Strips and Devalues Successful Hospitals, Studies Show (Medpage Today)

• Healthcare Private Equity Transactions Under Scrutiny: Mid-Year Review (JD Supra)
• Private equity firms to acquire health care billing and payments firm R1 in $8.9 billion deal (Reuters)

• Inflation Reduction Act Health Insurance Subsidies: What is Their Impact and What Would Happen if They Expire? (KFF)

• North Carolina to offer enhanced Medicaid funds to hospitals that help eliminate medical debt (Health Care Dive)

• CMS increases abilities to fine nursing homes, hikes Medicare pay by 4.2 percent (McKnghts)

• Judge OKs Steward hospital closures in Dorchester, Ayer (Boston.Com)

• Massachusetts governor says Steward Health Care must give 120-day notice before closing hospitals (AP)
• Steward Health Care fails to secure bids on Ohio, Pennsylvania facilities (Fierce Health)

• Healthcare Costs Predicted to Jump 8%, Stretching Provider Finances Thin (Health Leaders)

• Nearly half of insured Americans get surprise expenses in medical bills, Commonwealth Fund survey finds (USA Today)

• Unforeseen Health Care Bills and Coverage Denials by Health Insurers in the U.S.(Commonwealth Fund)

• New non-profit to tackle healthcare workforce shortage across western regions of Virginia (WBDJ)

• IBM: Average Cost of a Healthcare Data Breach Increases to Almost $11 Million (HIPPA Journal)

• Georgia health coverage commission begins its effort to improve health care access (Macon Telegraph)

• Healthcare Breaches Are More Costly Than Financial Breaches: Here's Why (Forbes)

• Adventist HealthCare's deal for Howard University Hospital may be on the rocks (Washington Business Journal)

• Supreme Court overrules Chevron deference, dealing blow to federal healthcare agencies (Fierce Health)

• Fraud initiative reveals ugly, $900M wound care scheme targeting SNF patients (McKnights)

• Youngkin reestablishes Maternal Health Task Force while Virginia’s infant mortality rate is above national average (WJHL on MSN)

• Virginia’s state budget will fund OB-GYN medical residencies amid obstetrics closures (Virginia Mercury)

• Massive nationwide crackdown nets hundreds in $2.7 billion healthcare fraud sting (Jursit)

• Health care price hikes affect employment and economic stability (NewsMedical)

• Working Paper (Download PDF): Who Pays for Rising Health Care Prices? Evidence from Hospital Mergers (NBER)

• Hospital mergers tied to increased layoffs, reduced tax revenues: National Bureau of Economic Research report (Health Care Dive)

• Healthcare firms face 'a perfect storm' of liability challenges post-pandemic: How private equity and higher salaries are impacting the market (Insurance News)

• Home Heart Hospital Model Lowers Costs, Enhances Care for High-Cost Patients With CVD (AJMC)

• Tennessee gives hospital monopoly an A grade, even when it reports failure (Medical Express)

• Virginia’s Warner cosponsors ‘Tyler’s Law’ seeking more fentanyl testing in emergency rooms (Henrico Citizen)

• California Becomes Latest State To Try Capping Health Care Spending (KFF)

• After botched real estate deal, state watchdog JLARC recommends changes to VCU Health’s board (WVTF)

• Novartis sues Maryland over law mandating discounts for hospitals' outside pharmacies (Reuters)

• Mental Health Care Dominates Telehealth Visits, Study Finds (AJMC)

• Virginia’s Augusta Hospital wins CMS Health Equity Award (Beckers)

• New Maryland Law Places New Restrictions on Noncompete Agreements for Health Care and Veterinary Professionals (National Law Review)

• UnitedHealth projects shaky Medicaid redetermination aftermath (Fierce Health)

• Health Insurance Costs Will Rise Steeply if Premium Tax Credit Improvements Expire (CBPP)

• Expensive Health Insurance Premiums By Design (Forbes)

• Florida allows doctors to perform C-sections outside of hospitals (CNN)

• Maternity experts skeptical of Florida law allowing out-of-hospital C-sections (TribLive)

• After the only hospital in town closed, Williamston [NC] directs its ire at politicians (WNCT)

• State [Massachusetts] Senate will issue its own set of healthcare reforms in response to Steward crisis (Boston Herald)

• Arizona attorney general investigates Steward Health Care's bankruptcy (AZ Central)
• Steward Health Care tells bankruptcy court it plans to sell all 31 hospitals, but summer deadline 'not feasible' (Fierce Health)

• The U.S. government says it will commit millions to prevent future breaches and ransomware attacks on the healthcare sector (Fast Company)

• Nebraska health system to drop all Medicare Advantage plans (Beckers)

• Kansas jilts CVS in new Medicaid contract awards (Health Care Dive)

• NYS Dept. of Health Issues Wynn Hospital an Immediate Jeopardy' Prior to Wynn Pausing Cardiac Surgery Program (WKTV)

• CHS sues MultiPlan for allegedly colluding to lower provider reimbursement;It’s the third lawsuit filed against MultiPlan by a health system in under a year (Health Care Dive)

• Federal Agencies Seeking “Public” Reporting of Health Care Sector Anticompetitive Practices (JD Supra)

• Health care 'price fixing' has gone high tech, but FTC chief is on the case (Benefits Pro)

• It’s time to end the Medicare-Medicaid merry-go-round (Opinion- The Hill)

• Prices Paid to Hospitals by Private Health Plans: Findings from Round 5 of an Employer-Led Transparency Initiative (Rand)

• Patients with private insurance can face higher health costs at hospitals (NBC)

• Walmart closing health care clinics, ending virtual services (The Hill)

• Dual Health Insurance Coverage Declining For Adults Age 65 and Over (US Census)

• Former HHS secretaries: Congress should adopt site-neutral payments for health care (STAT)

• HCA California hospital faces pushback on trauma center closure (Beckers)

• MedStar Health teams with Dispatch Health for in-home hospital stay follow-ups (WTOP)

• Connecticut hospital mergers or acquisitions mean fewer competitors and higher prices for consumers, according to a recent state report (WCAI/NPR)

• Home healthcare for elderly sees largest price increase ever (The Hill)

• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute retracts 7 studies after work of researchers is questioned (NBC Boston)

• After public push, CMS curbs health insurance agents’ access to consumer SSNs (News Medical)

• Sentara and Optima Health under investigation after drastic increase of insurance premiums (WTKR)

• In Battle Over Health Care Costs, Private Equity Plays Both Sides (NYT)

• The HHS Released Final Rules to Limit 'Junk Insurance' Scams, Protect Consumers and Lower Healthcare Costs (Managed Healthcare Exec)

• For-Profit Companies Open Psychiatric Hospitals in Areas Clamoring for Care (CBS)

• CMS Invites Hospitals To Raise Prices And Buy Physician Practices (Forbes)

• Medicaid Financing Requires Reform: The North Carolina Case Study (Health Affairs)

• Study: Post-acute care transitions during COVID-19: Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic differences in older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (Journal AGS)

• After Appalachian Hospitals/Ballad Health [Tennessee & Virginia] Merged Into a Monopoly, Their ERs Slowed to a Crawl (KFF)

• Utah health group launches study to identify, manage growing medical costs (Daily Herald)

• Establishing a telehealth alliance to boost rural healthcare access (Health Intelligence)

• Assisted living facilities are the new nursing homes. Oversight falls short (New Mexico in Depth)

• EDITORIAL: Medicare benefit should ease seniors' health-cost burden (Sentinel & Enterprise)

• Hospital review board, health care provider tax among proposals to reign in Delaware costs (Delaware News Journal)

• Charges for emails with doctors and other healthcare providers (KFF)

• Don't Be Surprised If Your Doctor Starts Charging You for Email (Time)

• Opinion: Biden touts health care wins, but Bidenomics is driving health care costs higher (The Hill)

• Nursing homes bury 63 percent of profits in related-party tunnels, but not all play the game: study (McKnights)

• Federal regulators, clinicians make their case against private equity in healthcare (Fierce Health)

• Medicare Part D Plans Greatly Increased Utilization Restrictions On Prescription Drugs, 2011–2020 (Health Affairs)

• Hospital Mergers in 2024: Five Things to Know (Medscape)

• United Healthcare’s ransomware attack shows why supply chains are under siege (VentureBeat)

• Corporate Greed Made the Change Healthcare Cyberattack Worse (Intelligencer)

• False Claims Act judgments for healthcare totaled $1.8 billion in 2023, DOJ says (Health Care Finance)

• Healthcare fraud rampant, but OIG refines its focus on nursing homes (McKnights)

• Study Findings: Addressing the Crisis in Rural Maternity Care (CHQPR)

• More than half of rural hospitals in Missouri and Kansas no longer deliver babies (KCUR)

• Employers are seeking [healthcare] claims data, but payers are refusing (Health Leaders)

• Early detection is paramount: Three Virginia health systems partner for NIH cancer research (Augusta Free Press)

• In California, faceoff between major insurer and health system shows hazards of consolidation (MedicalXpress)

• UnitedHealth confirms Optum hack behind US healthcare billing outage (Bleeping Computers)

• Nursing homes sue Ohio Medicaid, with hundreds of millions on the line (Plain Dealer)

• Community Health Systems discloses DOJ investigation (FierceHealth)

• HCA Healthcare must face antitrust case over health costs, US judge says (Reuters)

• Opinion: Will West Virginia repeal its ‘Permission to Compete’ laws? (The Hill)

• Close vote sends certificate of need repeal to full House of Delegates (The News & Sentinel)

• Health Care Service Corp To Buy Cigna Medicare Advantage Plans (STAT)

• Inside the CMS Policies That Could Improve Care, Payments for Dual-Eligible Nursing Home Residents (Skilled Nursing News)

• US FDA says 561 deaths related to Philips [ventilator] machines since 2021 (Reuters)

• Caution Raised for Post-TAVR Cardiac Surgeries (MedPageToday)

• Many young patients choose TAVR despite better long-term survival with surgery (NewsMedical)

• DOJ’s Healthcare Probes of AI Tools Rooted in Purdue Pharma Case (Bloomberg)

• Healthcare labor churn increased through 2021, study finds (HealthCareDive)

• Heavy healthcare hiring softened sting of quits, analysis suggests (Beckers)

• Vermont Considers Bringing Its Version of Washington’s ‘My Health My Data Act’ To New England (JDSupra)

• Tech start-ups are giving US healthcare services a slick makeover (BBC)

• Chapter 11 bankruptcies spiked across healthcare in 2023, particularly for hospitals (FierceHealthcare)

• Hospital merger activity is projected to increase in 2024 (ChiefHealthcareExec)

• Senate probes the cost of assisted living and its burden on American families (NewsMedical)

• Alaska Adopts New Out-of-State Pharmacy Requirements (JDSupra)

• Hospitals owned by private equity are harming patients, reports find (ArsTechnica)

• Experts Warn of Looming Private Equity Interest in Cardiology Care (TctMD)

• Who is most efficient in health care? Study finds, surprisingly, it's the VA (MedicalXpress on MSN)

• Despite opposition from health care providers, Dunleavy administration repeals longstanding regulation meant to hold down costs (Anchorage Daily News)

• Florida House panel backs health care plan (CBS)

• Lack of reliable transportation could have negative health impacts: CDC (The Hill)

• New Nursing Home Transparency Rules and Their Impact on Real Estate Owners (JDSupra)

• Sen. Douglas wants new certificate-of-need task force; NKY’s Rep. Proctor files bills to reform CONs (Northern Kentucky Tribune)

• Henry Ford Health cardiologists publish case series study on heart valve procedure; Procedure shows promise for treating severely calcified mitral valve stenosis (EurekaAlert)

• Health Insurance Premiums Set to Jump Over 6% This Year (Money on MSN)

• Taking a deeper look at the cause of medical staffing shortages in Southwest Virginia (WFXR)

• Health Plans Can’t Dodge Paying for Expensive New Cancer Treatments, Says Michigan’s Top Insurance Regulator (ProPulbica)

• Wisconsin health care costs at core of battle between business lobby WMC and hospital group WHA (Milwaukee Business Journal)

• Why Many Insured Californians Avoid Hospitals In This County: ‘It’S Just Too Much’(SFGate)

• Nursing Home Deficiencies Jumped Almost 10% Since 2015 and Staffing Levels Are To Blame (KFF)

• Experts scrutinize HHS' plan to improve primary care (Beckers)

• Changes in Hospital Adverse Events and Patient Outcomes Associated With Private Equity Acquisition (JAMA Network)

• Florida gains FDA approval to import drugs from Canada (MedicalXpress)

• Why Are Health Insurance Costs Soaring in Washington State? (Governing)

• ‘Tradeoffs’: How the Loss of a Rural Hospital Compounds the Collapse of Care (KHN)

• Hospital consolidation drives high health care costs in Maine, according to progressive think tank (BangorDailyNews)

• Rift over N95 Use Puts Health Workers at Risk Again (Scientific American)

• Remote Patient Monitoring Drives Care Outside the Hospital (AJMC)

• California’s ambitious Medicaid experiment gets tripped up in implementation (NewsMedical)

• A Cigna-Humana merger could face a long regulatory delay. But it might get approved.(HealthCareDive)

• Medicare is overpaying for generic drugs: Study (MedicalXpress)

• Joint Commission unveils new health data certification (Becker’s)

• Sentara Health becomes sole owner of Velocity Urgent Care (WTKR)

• New 4-in-1 test can differentiate between swine flu, COVID-19, RSV, and influenza (NewsMedical)

• CMS says states could lose funding over Medicaid redeterminations issues (HealthCareDive)

• Extra Fees Drive Assisted Living Profits (KHN)

• UnitedHealth faces class action lawsuit over algorithmic care denials in Medicare Advantage plans (STAT)

• Hospitals: UHC's 2024 MA coverage policy blatantly violates' new CMS coverage requirements (Fierce Health)

• Some of the longest emergency room wait times in Maryland can stretch almost a whole day (WTOP)

• Decades after blood pressure-related pregnancy complications, Hispanic/Latina women can have changes in heart structure and function (EurekaAlert)

• CMS finalizes rule requiring greater transparency for nursing home ownership (Fierce Health)

• What Long-Term Care Looks Like Around the World (KHN)

• State attorney general, doctors and nurses criticize HCA over patient care at North Carolina's Mission Hospital (NBC)

• FTC blocks Tenet Healthcare, John Muir Health's California hospital deal (Fierce Health)

• Ballad Health, the only hospital system across a swath of Tennessee and Virginia, has fallen short of quality-of-care and charity care obligations (USA Today/KFF)

• AHA urges lawmakers to roll back online tracking tech restrictions (HealthCareDive)

• These Employers Took On Healthcare Costs, and the Fight Got Nasty (WSJ)

• Hospitals are dropping Medicare Advantage (Beckers)

• Cigna to pay $172M to settle claims it overcharged Medicare Advantage program (Fierce Health)

• The latest Medicaid unwinding dilemma (WP)

• Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding :Tracking State Medicaid Disenrollment (KFF)

• Researchers find a cause of Parkinson’s disease (EurekaAlert)

• Brief (PDF): Hospital Concentration Decreases Care for Medicaid Beneficiaries (NIHCM)

• Private Equity-Owned Healthcare Companies to Join in $3 Billion Merger (WSJ)

• CBO: Center tasked with saving Medicare money falls short (Politico)

• New recommendations to improve outcomes at US congenital heart surgery centers (NewsMedical)

• Kaiser Permanente workers say deal unlikely to avert strike (Reuters)

• Private equity firms and publicly traded companies shift their operational strategies to maximize profits, according to a study (HealthCareDive)

• Study: Changes in Diagnoses and Site of Care for Patients Receiving Hospice Care From Agencies Acquired by Private Equity Firms and Publicly Traded Companies (JAMA Network)

• Brief: Ensuring Continuous Eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP: Coverage and Cost Impacts for Adults (Commonwealth Fund)

• The Cost Shift, The Health Care Ecosystem, And Commercial Prices (Health Affairs)

• Study: Skilled Nursing Facility Changes in Ownership and Short-Stay Medicare Patient Outcomes (JAMA Network)

• Nursing home sales a ‘symptom’ of poor quality: researchers (McKnights)

• Virginia hospitals are rewriting their security plan (Free Lance Star)

• Hospitals say New Mexico's rising malpractice payout cap puts insurance out of reach (SantaFe News)

• Albany-area hospitals continue to see longest ER wait times in state (Times Union)

• Cannabis related hospital visits are on the rise in Virginia, specifically among kids and teens (WVEC on MSN)

• Maximizing Nonprofit Hospitals’ Role In Community Health Improvement (Health Affairs)

• American Heart Association Releases Guidance for Patient Data Sharing (HealthITAnalytics)

• Critics: Nonprofit hospitals' charity care falling short (St Louis Post-Dispatch)

• Half of Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Left Plan After 5 Years (Health Payer)

• As hospitals, insurers fight, patients lose (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

• Nursing Homes Must Boost Staffing Under First-Ever National Standards (WSJ on MSN)

• Humana sues feds over Medicare Advantage risk adjustment change (Fierce Healthcare)

• Patients in public hospitals experience more discharge delays: Study (Beckers)

• MOVEit breach hits Johns Hopkins, other health systems (Modern Healthcare)

• As pharmaceutical companies bemoan Medicare’s drug negotiations, hospitals and doctors stay mum (STAT)

• HHS Scores Win in Low-Income Medicare Payment Row With Hospitals (BloombergLaw)

• Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs Saved $1.8B in 2022, CMS Reports (RevCycle)

• Cigna Accused of Using AI, Not Doctors, to Deny Claims: Lawsuit (Medscape)

• Medicare slashes safety net hospital payments on estimate that more people have insurance (STAT)

• Health insurers don’t want you to know where your money is going (Crains)

• Why going critical access was 'not a hard decision' for a Maine hospital (Beckers)

• Uninsured rate hits record low, just as millions start losing Medicaid coverage (The Hill)

• Private Equity Ownership Leads to Lower Quality, Higher Costs (Health Leaders)

• What Happens When Private Equity Buys Your Doctor's Office? (Time)
• Who Employs Your Doctor? Increasingly, a Private Equity Firm. A new study finds that private equity firms own more than half of all specialists in certain U.S. Markets.(NYT)

• Be Aware: Someone Could Steal Your Medical Records and Bill You for Their Care (KFF)

• HCA's Sam Hazen states that an internal investigation finds the private information of approximately 11 million patients was compromised (Health Care Finance)
• Health data of 1.7 million Oregon residents accessed by MOVEit hackers (TechCrunch)
• Data Breach Exposes Personal Information of 612K Medicare Recipients (Kiplinger/MSN)
• The biggest health care data breaches you should know about in Virginia (Stacker)

• Bon Secours drops Anthem-managed Medicare plans (Virginia Pilot)

• AHA, BCBSA urge CMS to ditch conflicting requirements in prior authorization reform proposal (Fierce Health)

• State (Connecticut) creates nursing home ownership transparency rules ahead of federal action (McKnights)

• Docs shift to larger, hospital-owned practices to have more negotiation power with payers, AMA analysis finds (Fierce Health)

• FTC withdraws ‘outdated’ antitrust policy statements. Hospitals cry foul (HealthCareDive)

• Brief: What Share of Nursing Facilities Would Meet Possible New Staffing Requirements? (KFF)

• Few nursing homes would comply with recommended staffing standard, analysis shows (AXIOS)
• Over a year after nursing home staffing law, NY homes still fail to meet mandates (Crains)
• AHCA to White House: Nursing home staffing mandate spells ‘disaster’ (McKnights)

• Taking a Look at 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Implementation One Year After Launch (KFF)

• Virginia sees 50% increase in people using 988 during crisis hotline’s first year (WSLS)
• VA lays groundwork for first major survey of moral injury in veterans (Military Times)

• Medicare has a new plan to address drug shortages — but it could backfire (STAT)

• 12 Highest-Cost States for Medicare Drug Bills (ThinkAdvisor)
• 10 Prescription Drugs Took Up 22% of Medicare Part D Spending in 2021 (MedCity)

• Analysis: A Small Number of Drugs Account for a Large Share of Medicare Part D Spending (KFF)

• New Virginia law requires hospitals to post price list online (WRIC)

• Hospitals, health systems facing lawsuits for data breaches (Beckers)

• HCA Healthcare hit with at least 4 class-action lawsuits days after disclosing massive data breach (Fierce Health)
• Johns Hopkins hit with class action suit following data breach (HealthCareDive)
• HCA reports data security incident affecting estimated 11M patients (HealthCareDive)

• CMS Proposes Payment Cuts in CY24 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (RevCycle)

• Medicare 2024 Base Pay Cut Announcement Spurs Calls for Reform (Medscape)

• Alarming’ COVID-19 treatment rates in nursing homes discovered (McKnights

• We Updated “Nursing Home Inspect.” Here’s What Changed (ProPublica on MSN)

• ProPublica Nursing Home Inspect

• Is the safety net ready for the next public health emergency? (MSN/The Hill - Opinion)

• New Virginia law requires hospitals to post price list online (WRIC)

• Health Connect America Gets Fined $4.6M for Wrongful Billing of Virginia Medicaid (MedCity)

• Nearly 3 million people cut from Medicaid coverage even though many might still be eligible (MSN/CNBC)

• Expanding Medicaid improved care without crowding out other patients (MedicalXpress)
• Medi-Cal’s Fragmented System Can Make Moving a Nightmare (KHN)

• How UnitedHealth’s acquisition of a popular Medicare Advantage algorithm sparked internal dissent over denied care (STAT)

• Richmond healthcare services company owner sentenced to 51 months in prison for fraud (Augusta Free Press)

• Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis Who Cannot Undergo Surgery (Medscape)

• Researchers discover new opportunities for preventing kidney injury following cardiac surgery (MedicalXpress)
• Long-term Mortality and Pacing Outcomes of Patients with Permanent Pacemaker Implantation after Cardiac Surgery (Medscape)

• Wider access to health insurance via Medicaid expansion improved cardiac care (Eureka!)

• The top 10 nonprofit health systems by 2022 operating revenue (Fierce Health)

• Lawmakers pass on increasing nursing home staffing minimums but hike transparency requirements (McKnights)

• The 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule aims to curb any interference with electronic health information. Despite this, some hospitals still report possible instances of information blocking (EHRIntel)

• Study:Experiences with information blocking in the United States: a national survey of hospitals (JAMIA)

• What's Changed Since HCA's Takeover of Mission Health? (Medpage)

• HHS offers aid amid Medicaid redetermination coverage losses (Health Care Dive)

• Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ) raised concerns about recent Medicaid eligibility redeterminations.

• Podcast (w/Transcript): Kelsey Owsley on 340B's Effect on Oncology Services (Health Affairs)

• AHIP Urges 4 Types of Policies to Reduce Healthcare Spending (Health Payer)

• Brief: Health Care Affordability Improved Between 2019 and 2022 Under Pandemic Health Coverage Policies (RWJ)

• The hospital association said the proposed update to the market basket of the Inpatient Prospective Payment System is inadequate, citing market forces and workforce woes (RevCycle)

• Nursing homes serving Black residents found to have greater hospitalizations, emergency department visits (MedicalXpress)

• Nursing home residents reluctant to voice concerns, report abuse or neglect for fear of retaliation: survey (The Hill)

• United Healthcare draws fire from docs over new prior authorization policy for colonoscopies (Fierce Health)Using

• COVID-19 positive donor hearts may impact post-transplant survival (MedicalXpress)

• Court Upholds ACA Preventive Care Compliance Amid Legal Proceedings (Health Payer)

• Private equity-backed Envision Healthcare files for bankruptcy (Financial Times)

• No Surprises Act IDR Process Once Again Exceeds Utilization Expectations (Health Leaders)

• Independent Dispute Resolution Case Load 14X More Than Expected (RevCycle)

• Monopoly concerns push FTC to sue to block Amgen’s more than $26B deal for Horizon (The Hill)

• Complementary and Alternative Medicines in HF: Key Takeaways From the AHA Statement (Medscape)

• Hospitals create police forces to stem growing violence against staff (WPR/NPR)

• Data leak may affect patients of multiple Virginia health care providers (Daily Press)

• State Lawmakers (Oregon) Eye Forced Treatment to Address Overlap in Homelessness and Mental Illness (KFF)

• An opportunity to enhance our model': Geisinger CEO Dr. Jaewon Ryu on Risant Health (Beckers)

• Kaiser Permanente discloses timeline, financial commitments for its VBC megadeal with Geisinger Health (Fierce Health)
• Kaiser Foundation Hospitals' new nonprofit Risant Health is acquiring Geisinger Health (Health Care Finance)

• Civil trial begins for first US nursing home with COVID outbreak, deaths (McKnights)

• The Health Plan Price Transparency Data Files Are a Mess- States Can Help Make Them Better (Health Affairs)

• VA renegotiates health record modernization contract (MSN)

• Razor Thin Margins Leave Hospitals Vulnerable to a Recession (RevCycle)

• Artificial intelligence is infiltrating health care. We shouldn’t let it make all the decisions (MIT Technology Review)

• Dr. Karen Shelton appointed as next Virginia State Health Commissioner (August Free Press)

• While the benefits of hospital-at-home programs are becoming apparent, providers may face several barriers to implementation, including developing and updating clinical workflows (Health Intelligence)

• How Hawaii plans to advance pediatric emergency care (Beckers)

• Senate COVID origins report details lab leak theory (Axios/MSN)

• The federal department has released ownership data for all Medicare-certified hospice and home health agencies to increase healthcare transparency (RevCycle)

• Pandemic-era Medicare pay bump not enough to cover hospitals' 17.5% expense growth, AHA argues (Fierce Health)

• Lawmakers, union attack AHCA’s opposition to nursing home staffing mandate (McKnights)

• Opinion: It’s time to address the unaffordability of affordable health care (The Hill)

• The looming Medicaid purge is sending a chill through hospitals (Crains)

• Millions at risk of losing Medicaid coverage as pandemic-era program ends (PBS)

• CVS Health Keeps Getting Bigger and Bigger (Managed Healthcare)

• Heart injury biomarker may help COVID-19 patients avoid hospitalization, new study shows (MedicalXpress)

• Virginia nonprofit sues for Irvo Otieno hospital records in death probe (WP/MSN)

• How does medical inflation compare to inflation in the rest of the economy? (KFF)

• Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease See Higher Hospital Readmission Rates (Revcycle)

• Study: Readmission Rates and Episode Costs for Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias Across Hospitals in a Statewide Collaborative (JAMA Network)

• Why it’s hard for the U.S. to cut, or even control, Medicare spending (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Research into directories of UnitedHealth, Elevance, Cigna, Aetna, and Humana uncovers inaccuracies that can lead to surprise billing and delays in care (Health Leaders)

• Study: Consistency of Physician Data Across Health Insurer Directories (JAMA Network)

• Kentucky governor vetoes attempt to scrap expanded Medicaid benefits (Beckers)

• Health insurers balk at price demands in Colorado governor’s signature health insurance program (Colorado Sun)

• Rising drug shortages pose national security threat, Senate panel says (The Hill)

•  HSGAC Majority Staff’ Report - Risks of Drug Shortages

• HHS plans revamp of US organ transplant network with updated IT, more competition (FierceHealth)

• eHealth Research Highlights Economic Factors that Drive Enrollment in Medicare Advantage vs Medicare Supplement (Market Watch)

• Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility, Enrollment, and Renewal Policies as States Prepare for the Unwinding of the Pandemic-Era Continuous Enrollment Provision (KFF)

• Med Center and Top Cardio Surgeon Must Pay $8.5 Million for Fraud, Concurrent Surgeries (Medscape)

• Medicare Advantage plans denying more inpatient claims (Healthcare Finance)

• Medicare Advantage, insuring 1 million patients in North Carolina, faces new challenges to costs, practices (NC Healthcare News)
• 2023 Medicare Advantage Enrollment Growth Has Shifted and Slowed (Health Payer)

• Office for Civil Rights brings 2 reports to Congress regarding state of HIPAA compliance and cybersecurity (Fierce Health)

• Georgia bill to replace certificate of need advances (Beckers)

• A new American Hospital Association report takes a closer look at the biggest challengers to healthcare's status quo (Health Leaders)

• AHA Report: Health Care Disruption (PDF)

• Under a new program, rural hospitals could get more money — but they have to end inpatient care (Mississippi Today)

• Medicaid enrollees largely unaware of upcoming redeterminations, survey finds (HealthCareDive)

• Pandemic-era legislation allowed Medicaid programs to keep people continuously enrolled, but new data spells trouble for people and provider revenue when that expires (RevCycle)

• Doctors Are Disappearing From Emergency Rooms as Hospitals Look to Cut Costs (Medscape)

• North Carolina House overwhelmingly approves its latest plan to expand Medicaid (WGHP)

• Certificate of Need exemption for birthing centers causes debate in W.Va. House (Parkersburg News & Sentinel)

• FTC’s enforcement action against GoodRx unveiled a new regulatory threat. Should digital health apps be concerned? (HealthCareDive)

• White House announces plans to enhance transparency over nursing home ownership (The Hill)

• More than 75% of Tennessee's rural hospitals at high risk of closure (MSN)

• Podcast:Surprise Ambulance Bills and Beyond (Health Affairs)

• Loudoun Moving to Local Health Department (Loudoun Now)

• Youngkin administration hands health commissioner duties to Lindsay (MSN)

• Evaluation of Prices for Surgical Procedures Within and Outside Hospital Networks in the US (JAMA Network)

• Despite High Spending, US Ranks Last in Health Outcomes: Study (Medscape/WebMD)

• U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes (Commonwelath Fund)

• We're Still Gonna Say No': Inside UnitedHealthcare's Effort to Deny Coverage to Chronically Ill (Pro Publica)

• Nonprofit hospitals may evade noncompete ban enforcement, experts say (HealthCareDive)

• Also:Doctors no longer bound by noncompetes under FTC’s proposed ban

• Follow-up colonoscopy rates low after positive stool-based test (MedicalXpress)

• Colorectal Cancer: New Blood Test May Help Determine if Chemotherapy is Needed After Surgery (Healthline)

• A bill for Virginia nursing home staffing standards is moving (Richmond Time Dispatch)

• Bill Targeting Minimum Staffing Standards, Value-Based Purchasing Gains Traction in Virginia (Skilled Nursing)

• Maryland lawmakers seek to remake the state’s health delivery system (Washington Post)

• Issues to watch during Maryland’s 2023 legislative session (Baltimore Sun)

• How this law (No Surprise Act) reshaped medical billing, and what challenges remain for patients (PBS)

• The portal to resolve surprise bills has been inundated with disputes — SCP Health tops the list (HealthCareDive)
• The No Surprises Act and ‘Good Faith Estimate’: What Is It and When Is It Required (MedCityNews)

• Healthcare workers union petitions FDA to recall Fresenius dialysis machines (UPI)

• Ransomware Attacks at Record Levels; Healthcare Organizations Must Be Ready Via Data Security and Disaster Response Policies and Procedures (National Law Review)

• State Health Plan (NC) rejects appeals from Blue Cross NC and United Healthcare (Charlotte Observer)

• State, hospital association paint different pictures of Colorado nonprofit hospitals' finances (KUSA)

• More than 8 in 10 nursing homes face staffing shortages (The Hill); AHCH State of the Nursing Home Industry Study 2023 (ACHA)

• Also: It’s time to crack down on NY’s predatory nursing home operators (Syracuse -Guest Opinion by Richard J. Mollot)
• Inspector general will review program for poorest performing nursing homes (McKnights)
• Nurses Push for Staffing Requirements at Nursing Homes (Globest)
• Nursing-home reform may finally become a reality: Three breakthroughs that are turning talk into action (Market Watch)

• South Carolina lawmakers to consider ending part of approval process for new health care facilities (WBTW)

• Study says U.S. hospital giant HCA  puts profits above patient care (NBC)

• Closing at UPMC hospital in central Pa. surprises, worries mayor of rural town (PennLive)

• Record High in U.S. Put Off Medical Care Due to Cost in 2022 (Gallup)

• Certificate of need changes in the Carolinas: What ASCs need to know in 2023 (Beckers)

• Study: Up to a third of rural hospitals are at risk of closure (Richmond Times Dispatch)

• Certificate of Need officially filed for new regional medical center in Easton (Maryland Daily Record)

• Providers, Payers In Ongoing “Tug-of-War” Over ED Coding, Study Says (RevCycle)

• CMS Proposes Bid to Speed Up Insurers' Prior Authorization Decisions (Medscape)

• Payer, Provider Orgs React to Prior Authorization Proposed Rule (HealthPayer)

• Employers Can Do More to Advance Health Equity (Harvard Business Review)

• Related: How much employees actually pay for health care plans (Eastern Oregonian)

• Considerations for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Its State, Local, Territorial, and Tribal Public Health Partners (RWJF)

• Patient discharge delays pose threat to health outcomes  (Healthcaredive)

• Issue Brief: Patients and Providers Faced with Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges (AHA)

• High Deductibles Keep Some Women From Follow-Up After Troubling Mammogram (USNews)

• For-profit health systems HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, and Community Health Systems have all had positive operating margins for most quarters during the pandemic (RevCycle)

• 7 Challenges, Opportunities for All-Payer Claims Databases (Health Payer)

• Critical changes in COVID-19 standards of care associated with improved mortality outcomes (MedicalXpress)

• Should older seniors risk major surgery? New research offers guidance (SFGate)

• Brief: How does medical inflation compare to inflation in the rest of the economy? (Health System Tracker)

• Potential Effects of the Proposed Medicaid Eligibility Rule for Newly Enrolled Medicare-Medicaid Enrollees (KFF)

• AMA found that around a third of Medicare Advantage markets in 2021 had one insurer with a market share of 50 percent or more, indicating low competition levels (HealthPayer)

• 3 trends to watch as ACA open enrollment begins

• Senate Dems urge action on false Medicare marketing (AXIOS)

• Hospitals likely face difficult service line decisions amid growing financial woes, Kaufman Hall warns (Fierce Health)

• CMS releases final payment rules for 2023: 15 takeaways (Becker’s)

• Half of hospitals spend just 1.4% of expenses on charity care, KFF finds (HealthcareDive)

• Rural Emergency Hospitals – CY 2023 OPPS Final Rule Includes Additional Information on New Medicare Provider Type (National Law Review)

• Lobbying Expenditures in the US Health Care Sector, 2000-2020 (JAMA Network)

• 'Calm before the storm': Health insurance costs set to spike after they stayed mostly flat in 2022, survey finds (MSN)

• Payment Policy And The Challenges Of Medicare And Medicaid Integration For Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries (Health Affairs)

• LCMC Health and Tulane University announce partnership with LCMC to acquire three HCA hospitals through the agreement (Tulane)

• Joint Press Release

• U.S. Hospitals Under Strain as ER Wait Times Lengthen (US News)

• Home health services patients sue HHS secretary over Medicare policy (The Hill)

• Beleaguered Bright slashes footprint, fully exiting all ACA markets, nixing MA for 9 states with ony Caifonia and Florida left (Health Care Dive)

• Research Brief: The Role Of Administrative Waste In Excess US Health Spending (Health Affairs)

• CMS Seeks Input on National Directory of Healthcare Providers (RevCycle)

• Federal Register: Request for Information; National Directory of Healthcare Providers & Services

• Major worldwide study clusters long COVID symptoms into 3 groups (Fierce Health)

• If passed, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) could have significant implications for health data privacy outside of HIPAA (HealthIT)

• An ‘unprecedented’ hospital system hack disrupts health-care services (MSN)

• Patients for Profit - How Private Equity is Hijacking Health Care: Death Is Anything but a Dying Business as Private Equity Cashes In (KHN)

• NC Hospitals Propose to Fund Medicaid Expansion, Reform CON Laws (Health Payer)

• Emergency Out-of-Network Payments Were Twice the Benchmark Level (Medscape)

• Comparison of Estimated No Surprises Act Qualifying Payment Amounts and Payments to In-Network and Out-of-Network Emergency Medicine Professionals (JAMA Forum)

• ‘The Hell That They Put Me Through’: Nursing Homes Are Suing Caregivers for Debts They Don’t Owe, Regulator Says (Barrons)

• Hospitals Divert Primary Care Patients to Health Center ‘Look-Alikes’ to Boost Finances (California Healthline)

• Amazon Care is shutting down at the end of 2022. Here's why (Fierce Health)

• Amazon’s Health Care Ambitions (Washington Monthly)

• Private equity bought a nursing home, leading to staff cuts and a decline in care (Marketplace)

• Atlanta Medical Center closure: What you need to know (Beckers)

• Major Atlanta hospital announces closure, drawing mayor’s ire (MPT/PBS)

• AI predicts demand for hospital beds for patients coming through emergency department (Medcial Xpress)

• Hospital margins worse than when pandemic began, report says (Healthcare Dive)

• National database for showing nursing home ownership has gaps, report says (Axios)

• How Can We Improve the Hospital Discharge Process?(Medpage)

• New rural hospital model draws interest — and questions (Crains)

• Buy and Bust: Collapse of Private Equity-Backed Rural Hospitals Mired Employees in Medical Bills (KHN)

• Colorado's new hospital price transparency law adds 'real teeth' to weak federal enforcement, experts say (Fierce Health)

 VirginiaDepartment of Health

Members of the public are invited to listen in on the October 7, 2024

Board of Directors Meeting.

Zoom access: 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

Meeting ID: 827 6146 9220 Passcode: : 503050