The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final procedural notice on Wednesday to expedite Medicare coverage of novel medical devices and get the devices to Medicare beneficiaries faster. The House Ways and Means Committee passed legislation in June that significantly diverges from the final notice. CMS proposed the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) pathway in June 2023.
In 2024, more than 70 percent of community health centers (CHCs) reported primary care physician, nurse, or mental health professional shortages, according to a new Commonwealth Fund survey. Released during the annual National Health Center Week, the survey also shows that, despite many challenges — including rising mental health and substance use treatment needs, changes in Medicaid enrollment, and persistent funding gaps — CHCs have continued to provide accessible, comprehensive, and coordinated care to more than 30 million patients annually.
As artificial intelligence proliferates in healthcare, health system leaders told Becker's that human providers will always be part of the medical field, with their AI-aided treatment recommendations being discussed with patients and family members. Having humans involved in all healthcare decisions is not only ethically the right thing to do, but it also helps with healing. However, nothing on the administrative side of healthcare should be off limits for AI. Automating those tasks will give healthcare providers more time to focus on patient care rather than, say, determining what is covered by insurance.
HHS proposal would require health IT contractors to meet data exchange standards
The Department of Health and Human Services' technology office and financial resources office are acting on a July 2022 memorandum to align health information technology strategy, and investments, across the department. The offices have developed standard language to align health data exchange standards for HHS grants, cooperative agreements, contracts and policy and regulatory actions. As a part of the HHS Health IT Initiative, ASTP/ONC has also provided technical assistance to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to align health IT standards.
The national uninsured rate rose from 7.7% to 8.2% earlier this year, a result of states booting millions of Americans from their state Medicaid programs, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 7.7% uninsured rate in 2023 was a record low at the time, but didn’t factor in any of the people who were losing their Medicaid coverage. Overall, more than 27 million people had no form of health insurance as of March 2024, compared with more than 25 million people at the same time in 2023, the CDC reported Tuesday. The data come from the CDC’s quarterly National Health Interview Survey.
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