In accordance with law, the Internal Revenue Service released today 2021 inflation adjustments to health savings account contribution limits and minimum deductibles for related high deductible health plans as described in Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code. Only high deductible benefit plan participants may contribute to health savings accounts.
According to Fierce Healthcare, CVS Health today announced a major expansion of their drive up COVID0-19 testing sites.
Starting Friday, the retail and pharmacy giant will open nearly 300 additional test sites across 14 states for a total of nearly 350 available test sites in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.The company said it plans to establish up to 1,000 locations across the country by the end of May with the goal of processing up to 1.5 million tests per month.
Finally, there will be a drive up testing site located in Montgomery County, MD, where the FEHBlog lives.
Healthcare Dive wrote a follow up report on the Commonwealth Fund study mentioned in yesterday’s post.
Telehealth visits that exploded in recent months are starting to plateau and in some cases decline in popularity as doctor’s offices reschedule backlogged patients for more in-person appointments, according new data from The Commonwealth Fund. Telemedicine visits accounted for about 14% of all total visits the week of April 19, according to the report, but that number dropped to 13% the next week and 12% the week after that. Telehealth visits held at 12% for the first two weeks of May.
In this regard, a Health Affairs Blog article discusses how primary care can be rejuvenated in the wake of the COVID-19 emergency. The number one suggestion is
Ending the hegemony of the face-to-face visit and rebalancing the appointment template toward 50 percent distance visits are likely to improve patient access while reducing work and burnout.
Studies are mixed but suggest that e-visits and phone visits reduce the number of face-to-face visits and take less time for clinicians and staff. When the Kaiser Permanente system in Hawaii massively changed its primary care model in 2004—with e-visits and phone visits increasing sixfold and eightfold, respectively—office visits decreased 26.2 percent.
Multiple studies demonstrate that these visits can provide high-quality care for a large number of medical conditions.
It should be easier for the physician community to redirect patient care in this manner.