Health Care Roundup: Long-Term Healthcare Costs of COVID-19, Medical Worker Vaccination Mandates Backlash & More

COVID-19 to Drive Healthcare Costs Higher Long-Term:

The health implications of COVID-19 are likely to inflate healthcare costs and insurance premiums for decades, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

The ongoing treatment of chronic conditions associated with COVID-19, as well as diagnostic testing and treatment for other illnesses that was deferred during the pandemic, will require providers to expand outpatient capacity, Fitch said.

Health insurers have incorporated growing COVID-19 claims data and pent-up demand estimates into their 2021 premiums, which should help moderate prices in the short term. But over the long term, expansion of the healthcare system will only exacerbate existing pressures on operating performance, including the tight labor market for experienced staff and the rising prices of pharmaceuticals and supplies. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

ME Hospitals Bracing for Minor Worker Exodus over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate:

Hospitals in Maine are preparing for at least a small number of workers quitting their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 vaccination mandate issued by Gov. Janet Mills (D) this month. Although 80 percent of hospital employees and 73 percent of nursing home workers in the state were fully vaccinated as of the end of July, that still left over 10,000 workers in just those two settings who weren’t fully vaccinated. (BANGOR DAILY NEWS)

Biden Administration to Require COVID-19 Vaccinations for Nursing Home Workers:

President Joe Biden announced on Aug. 18 that employees of nursing homes would have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order for the facilities to continue participating in Medicare and Medicaid. The announcement came hours after the release of a study indicating that the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines for nursing home residents has declined with the emergence of the Delta variant. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

MI Allowing Paramedics, EMTs to Staff Hospitals:

Mississippi’s Department of Health issued an order on Aug. 18 allowing certified paramedics and emergency medical technicians to care for patients in any part of a hospital in the state. A nursing shortage has left patients waiting days for an open hospital bed. (MISSISSIPPI TODAY [RIDGELAND])

Pandemic Takes Heavy Toll on Nurses:

A survey of over 400 nurses across the state of Washington, published by the Washington Center for Nursing, found that 51 percent had been furloughed or laid off during the pandemic; 49 percent had contracted COVID-19 last year, and 42 percent are now considering or have already made plans to leave the profession altogether. Alyssa Boldt, a relief charge nurse at Sacred Heart Medical Center, said “COVID has really revealed a lot of issues with the health care system and how providers on the frontlines operate and are treated.” (SPOKESMAN-REVIEW [SPOKANE])

NY Requiring Healthcare Workers to Get COVID-19 Vaccination:

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Aug. 16 that all healthcare workers in the state of New York, including hospital and long-term care facility staff, will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by Sept. 27. Cuomo’s office said 75 percent of the 450,000 hospital workers in the state have already been vaccinated, as well as 74 percent of the state’s 30,000 adult care workers and 68 percent of its 145,500 nursing home workers. (ALBANY TIMES UNION)

RI Healthcare Worker Vaccination Mandate Tougher than Expected:

Regulations issued by Rhode Island’s Department of Health on Aug. 17 state that healthcare workers at state-licensed facilities in the state who aren’t fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Oct. 1 and who don’t have an authorized exemption will not be allowed to enter the facilities. That’s a tougher stance than the one taken by Gov. Dan McKee’s (D) administration in announcing the mandate a week earlier. (BOSTON GLOBE)

MD Requiring Healthcare Workers to Get Vaccinated for COVID-19:

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Aug. 18 that all nursing home and hospital employees in the state would have to get vaccinated for COVID-19 or be subject to regular testing. Those workers will have to obtain their first shot by Sept. 1. (BALTIMORE SUN)

NM Gov Mandating COVID-19 Vaccinations for Healthcare Workers:

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said last week that she would be reinstating a mask mandate for public indoor spaces and requiring more people to get COVID-19 vaccinations, including workers at hospitals and nursing homes. She said the current surge of the virus “is a terrifying indicator of moving absolutely in the wrong direction, and hospital systems around the country are failing.” (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Lawsuit Targets AZ Abortion Law:

A coalition of civil rights organizations, medical groups, and physicians have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block a new anti-abortion law from taking effect in Arizona on Sept. 29. The law, signed by Gov. Doug Ducey (R) in April, makes it a crime to perform an abortion solely because of a genetic condition like Down syndrome or cystic fibrosis. (ARIZONA REPUBLIC [PHOENIX])

Thousands of 3M Surgical Device Lawsuits Back in Play:

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has revived nearly 6,000 lawsuits alleging 3M’s Bair Hugger device, widely used to keep patients warm during surgical procedures, caused the plaintiffs to develop antibiotic-resistant infections. The federal appeals court said the U.S. District judge in Minnesota who dismissed all the litigation in 2019 had wrongly excluded testimony from medical experts that supported the claims of the plaintiffs. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

KS Paid Medicaid Contractors $1.3M for Care of Dead People:

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment paid managed-care companies contracted by the state $1.3 million for the care of individuals who were deceased, according to an audit by the state’s Medicaid inspector general. At the time the audit report was issued two weeks ago, KDHE still hadn’t recovered that money from the contractors for KanCare, the state’s Medicaid program. (WICHITA EAGLE)

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK