Healthcare is a major focus of President Biden’s proposed $6 trillion budget for Fiscal Year 2022. The funding request includes a 23.4% increase in the Department of Health and Human Services’ budget, raising it to 133.7 billion. Numerous other agencies and programs...
COVID cases and deaths are declining across the US, leading more states to open back up. But experts fear that COVID clusters, like those in North Carolina and Hawaii will occur, especially in rural counties where vaccination rates are lower (38.9%) than in urban...
The Covid-19 pandemic is hitting County Health Departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and Community Based Organizations hard, especially within rural communities. Unsubmitted and unpaid Covid-19 claims are piling up and administration is finding it difficult...
Healthcare providers, pharmacies, and mass immunizers can now recoup administration costs for COVID-19 vaccines given to underinsured patients whose plans do not cover administrative costs or that require some sort of cost-sharing, according to a May 3rd announcement...
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have reached epidemic proportions across the United States, according to the CDC’s Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2019 report. Like many states, California’s rates are outpacing the national average for the top three...
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to light healthcare inequities among the uninsured and underinsured, especially within American minority communities. Ensuring that these individuals receive care and protection against disease is a top priority among Community and...
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the rise in the number of HIV-reported cases among people who inject drugs. In this blog, we’ll look at how the increase in substance abuse could lead to the further spread of HIV and the impact of intravenous drug use on overall...
There has been a substantial increase in the number of individuals signing up for health insurance when compared to the previous years. Over 528,000 Americans signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act from the start of the 2021 Special...
The CDC estimated that at the end of 2018, 1.2 million Americans were living with HIV; 186,500 of those cases were a result of intravenous drug use (HIV Surveillance Report, 2020). This is a growing trend, as 2,492 newly diagnosed HIV cases were reported among people...
As of this past Tuesday, April 5, 2021, Biden announced that he is moving up the deadline for states to make the Covid-19 vaccination available to all U.S. residents 18 and older. The President stated, “No more confusing rules, no more confusing restrictions.”...
North Carolina is making the path for other states to follow in their attempts to control the spread of Covid-19 in their underserved communities. A lot of North Carolina’s underserved areas consist of African American and Latino populations who do not have the...
Billing for COVID-19 vaccine administration has become a critical revenue source for health departments and community-based organizations throughout the nation. As more organizations are delivering the COVID-19 vaccines to high-risk minority and rural individuals, it...
The American Rescue Plan, which became law on March 11th, makes buying healthcare coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) more affordable for a lot more people. The law expands the premium tax credits available for everyone, including those in higher income...
Am I Eligible to Receive the Vaccine? Right now, more than half of the U.S. population (150 million) are eligible to be vaccinated, but ultimately it is each state that makes the final decision about who goes first. The first to qualify to receive the vaccines were...
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) Special Open Enrollment Period will allow new enrollments and/or changes from existing health plans If you don’t have health insurance you may be eligible to enroll in an Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan during the 2021 Special Open...
Community-based organizations are struggling to meet the growing demand for services because of the economic fall-out from COVID-19. And it looks like things are going to get worse before they get better. The number of COVID-19 cases is rising across the country and...
Throughout 2020, COVID-19 has tested every aspect of our healthcare practices and systems. This has created the necessity for new creative methods to counter-act the COVID-19 virus at all levels. Due to the lack of information, testing, and turn-around many hospitals...
Throughout 2020, more than a million individuals contracted COVID-19 in the United States. While this placed a huge physical demand on the delivery of products and services like PPE, ventilators, and round the clock healthcare workers, it also completely loaded our...
Changes to physician outpatient CPT coding for evaluation and management (E/M) services take place on January 1, 2021. The billing changes impact more than 50% of E/M services for all providers who see patients in offices or clinics. The changes impact commercial...
What you need to know for Open Enrollment 2021 It is that time of year again, open enrollment season is only a few days aways. Open enrollment is the period of time when individuals can enroll in an Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plan or make changes...
What is the problem? Since the onset of Covid-19, there has been a shortage of primary care physicians nationally. Keeping consumers healthy is extremely important and that means maintaining primary care. Over the years, studies have shown that maintaining...
I have a lot of family members who are on Medicare, and my phone is already starting to ring as Open Enrollment, which runs from October 15-December 7, 2020, is getting underway. They, like many people, are confused by all of the options Medicare offers. Someone new...
As if 2020 has not been stressful enough, now scammers are using the COVID-19 pandemic to prey on Medicare and Medicaid recipients by promising free care to their patients in order to gain their personal and health information, including their dates of birth, social...
Did You Say There is Another Virus to Worry About? The last thing we want to think about is another virus that can make us sick or cause death. Butas the weather turns colder, flu season knocks on our doors. This year more than ever, youdon’t want to let it in. What...
