Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

More Data Show Healthcare Isn’t Prepared for Cyberattacks

Yet another new study indicates healthcare professionals don’t think their organization’s information technology infrastructure is save from cyberattacks. Data from the Medical Group Management Association’s (MGMA) most recent Stat poll show more than half—55%—say their IT system would be safe from such intrusions. The poll, reflecting the views of 1,236 healthcare professionals, also reveals that 30% of participants said their organization has already been the target of a cyberattack. How would you answer those questions if they …

UnitedHealth Sees Growth After Exiting ACA Markets

UnitedHealth Group Inc. was very open in its claims that it was impossible to sustain the economics of participating in healthcare exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”)—and thus the company would stop participating. It made good on that vow, and has now reported profit growth in the second quarter and raised its projections for the year, fueled by its Optum health-services arm. The largest insurer in the U.S. UnitedHealth has almost completely …

Trustees Extend Medicare ‘Doomsday Scenario’ by a Year

Trustees for the actual Medicare trust fund say it will be insolvent by 2029, a year later than predicted by the Obama administration last year. The year before that, the Congressional Budget Office foresaw the program running dry in 2026. This means the infamous Independent Payment Advisory Board—devised by the designers of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”) to put the brakes on Medicare spending if costs grew faster than a predetermined rate—will not …

Feds Charge Hundreds—Including Doctors and Nurses—with $1.3 Billion in Healthcare Fraud

The U.S. departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Justice (DOJ) have announced charges against 412 defendants in the largest healthcare fraud action yet by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Among those charged are 115 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals. More than 120 of the defendants are charged with taking part in prescribing and distributing opioids, as well as other narcotics. All told, the alleged fraud schemes amount to $1.3 billion in …

New Data Reaffirm ED Overcharging—and ‘Disparities’ in Healthcare

Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore has added its voice to the chorus decrying excessive costs for patients visiting hospital emergency rooms for episodic care. What’s more, new data it just revealed indicates the odds of getting overcharged are greater if you’re a minority or uninsured. Researchers considered the billing records for more than 12,000 U.S. hospital-based emergency physicians, finding that on average adult patients in the ED are charged 340% more than what Medicare allows …

California Looks at $400 Billion (with a B) Single-Payer Bill

Some California legislators are hoping to push through a single-payer healthcare bill that would cost the state an estimated $400 billion—more than the entire national budget of Honduras (and 116 more countries across the globe). If passed, the bill would in effect eliminate health insurance companies there and provide government-funded health coverage for all residents. If it needs to be said, funding the plan would require “significant tax increases,” according to legislative analysts. On the …

Bill Would Help Pay ‘Reasonable Costs’ for Veterans to Visit Urgent Care

With an eye toward reducing the heavy economic burden stemming from patients visiting emergency rooms needlessly, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) is pitching legislation that would require the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to pay for care provided to veterans in urgent care centers. Representative Clay Higgins (R-LA) plans to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives. As written, the Veterans Emergency Room Relief Act of 2017 seeks to: Pave the way for veterans to receive …

Legislators May Face Healthcare Protests and Angry Voters Over Recess

A lot of Republicans are angry that their elected officials have failed, thus far, to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”) with something more to their liking. There may be an equal number of Democrats railing about the prospect of Congress doing exactly that. Senators and Congresspersons can expect to get an earful from both over the 2-week spring recess. Healthcare providers are likely to make their wishes known, too. Some legislators have …

Don’t Expect a Second Chance with Unsatisfied Millennial Patients

It’s an age-old adage: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Ironically, young adults in the “Millennial” age group (often defined as those born between 1982 and 2004) seem to have adopted it as a mantra when it comes to healthcare. New data from the Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) show Millennials are less inclined than other age groups to make a second trip to a healthcare provider if they were …

‘Snowbirds’ May Find Urgent Care a Perfect Fit

Once the geese start heading south for the winter, retirees can’t be far behind. The question is, where’s home, medically speaking? Typically, these snowbirds (seniors who spend the warmer months in the states where they established their lives but head to southern climates for the winter) keep their “regular” doctors up north but don’t have close ties to medical care near their winter homes. Urgent care could be the perfect solution, however, especially if operators …