Tag: COVID-19 pandemic

Prior Authorization Burden Still High Despite COVID Struggles

Most physicians still faced a high prior authorization burden despite treating a surge of positive COVID-19 cases this winter, the American Medical Association (AMA) reports. In a survey of 1,000 practicing physicians between Nov. 23, 2020, and Dec. 14, 2020, AMA found that 85 percent of physicians described the burden associated with prior authorization as high […]
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FDA Authorizes Non-Prescription COVID Tests

The FDA grants emergency use authorization for at-home, over-the-counter COVID-19 tests. On March 5, 2021, Cue Health received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their Cue COVID-19 Test for Home and Over The Counter (OTC) Use. The nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) detects the RNA of SARS-CoV-2, the […]
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Covid-19 Brought Little Relief from Prior Authorizations

Despite the strain placed on physicians by the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers continued to impose prior authorization requirements which delayed care and hurt some patients. According to a news release from the American Medical Association (AMA), a new survey showed that nearly 70 percent of the 1,000 respondents showed that health insurers had either reverted to prior authorization […]
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CMS Holding Claims Until Medicare Sequester Decision

CMS is temporarily holding claims from providers in anticipation of legislation that will extend the suspension of the 2 percent Medicare sequester, according to a recent newsletter. The MLN Connects newsletter from March 30 stated that CMS has “instructed the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to hold all claims with dates of service on or after April […]
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Biden Administration Shares Latest Round of HHS Staff Appointments

Today the Biden Administration announced its latest group of appointments to the Department of Health and Human Services. The new appointees join tens of thousands of career officials throughout the agency at a time when expertise is critical to tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. WHAT’S THE IMPACT? Kristina Schake will serve as HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra’s […]
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Physician Specialties Hit Hardest by Medicare Spending in 2020

Medicare spending on physician services decreased by $9.4 billion, or 19 percent, in the first half of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis from the American Medical Association (AMA). The analysis of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule claims from January to June last year found that Medicare spending dropped by as much as […]
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