Top Stories for 10/16

A critical component of the fight against COVID-19 is diagnostic testing, but shortages and long turnaround times have been an issue. Can a public-private partnership turn the tide? I’m Jeff Lagasse with Healthcare Finance News, and we’ll explore that and other major happenings in this week’s Top Stories.
 
The Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense have awarded $481 million to Cue Health, a rapid diagnostics startup, so it can expand production of a COVID-19 molecular test that received Emergency Use Authorization back in June. MobiHealthNews reports that the money will be used to deliver six million coronavirus molecular tests by March 2021; at that time, Cue expects to have a production capacity of 100,000 tests per day. The point-of-care test uses a nasal swab to detect the virus and then transmits the results from a reusable cartridge reader device to the corresponding Cue Health app. While this is expected to greatly increase testing capacity, it’s also a boon for Cue Health, which raked in $100 million in a funding round earlier this year, which it said would be put toward test development and scaling its manufacturing capacity.
 
Moody’s Investors Service released a report this week highlighting the operational risks inherent in owning a public hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, which it predicts will compound the fiscal and credit difficulties facing many large urban counties. According to Healthcare Finance News, the surging costs of tackling the pandemic, coupled with revenue loss caused by the suspension of elective procedures, are straining public hospital budgets, making hospitals more likely to need support from county governments. The degree of credit risk for counties will depend on the amount of CARES Act and other funding from federal and state governments, on how fast patient volume and hospital operating revenue recover, and on the magnitude of subsequent outbreaks. Counties and hospitals are dealing with both revenue and expenditure disruptions from the coronavirus, increasing the risk that large public hospitals will call on county governments to provide increased support just as counties are facing their own budget strains.
 
Finally this week, hospital associations are bemoaning a threat from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to withhold Medicare and Medicaid participation for non-compliant data reporting. In HealthcareITNews, we see that various groups, including the American Hospital Association, are concerned that health systems unable to share data in accordance with the new requirements may not receive reimbursement from the federal programs. The groups said that reporting requirements should be focused and not overly burdensome, though it’s too soon to tell if the current requirements fall into that category.
 
I’m Jeff Lagasse with Healthcare Finance News, and this has been Top Stories.