Addressing social determinants of health can improve outcomes -- what will Congress have to say on the matter? I’m Jeff Lagasse with Healthcare Finance News, and we’ll place that and more under the microscope in this week’s Top Stories.
Hundreds of medical and social-services organizations have advocated for the passage of the Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021, a bipartisan House bill that would establish an interagency council on SDOH, among other provisions. According to HealthcareITNews(https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/hundreds-stakeholders-support-passage-sdoh-bill-congress), as outlined in a letter sent this week by the Aligning for Health association to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the legislation would empower communities across the country to share data across sectors, foster partnerships, make use of available resources and coordinate care – all with the aim of improving outcomes. As Aligning for Health pointed out, health and wellness are affected by more than medical care alone. Factors such as housing, transportation, pollution and access to healthy food can all contribute to health outcomes.
Fitbit appears to be considering a new form for its health monitoring wearables based on a new patent registration filed last month. As we see in MobiHealthNews (https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/fitbit-patent-reveals-it-could-be-working-health-monitoring-ring), the Google-owned wearable-maker shared insights into a “ring for optically measuring biometric data” such as blood oxygen saturation, pulse, blood pressure, glucose levels and more. The filing focused on the blood oxygen saturation measurement features of the smart ring because the finger is the most common place to collect this data in clinical settings. Data collected by the ring can be shared with external devices through Bluetooth or near field communication, meaning it could connect to the Fitbit app, hospital networks or other wearables.
Finally this week, provider groups have expressed support for a Supreme Court decision to hear a challenge to the Department of Health and Human Services' move to cut hospital reimbursement in the 340B drug payment program. Healthcare Finance News reports (https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/supreme-court-decide-legality-drug-payment-cuts-340b-hospitals) that on July 2, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of the American Hospital Association et al versus Xavier Becerra, secretary of HHS. The court is expected to hear the case during its next session, which begins in October. At question is whether HHS has the legal authority to make the adjustments to Medicare Part B reimbursement under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System. An earlier appeals court decision spurred drugmakers to stop providing the discounts to 340B hospitals.
I’m Jeff Lagasse with Healthcare Finance News, and this has been Top Stories.