by Jordana Choucair | Feb 23, 2022 | Inequities and SDOH
The CDC released a new report indicating that the U.S. maternal mortality rate increased during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Black women faring far worse than their white peers. In 2020, 861 women died of maternal causes – up from 754 in 2019 –...
by Jordana Choucair | Feb 23, 2022 | Life Sciences
The CDC updated its guidance to say that first and second doses of Pfizer or Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines can be spaced as long as eight weeks apart for males ages 12-39 years of age. The agency cited new research that suggests that spacing the doses over a...
by Jordana Choucair | Feb 23, 2022 | Life Sciences
CDC data shows that COVID-19 vaccines provided weaker protection against the omicron variant than during other surges, leading to higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and death for fully vaccinated and boosted adults. Vaccinated people still fared much better...
by Jordana Choucair | Feb 23, 2022 | Payers
A bipartisan group of more than 60 senators asked the CMS to protect and stabilize the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. In a letter, the senators encourage the agency to push for “flexible in-plain benefit offerings” and better care coordination....
by Jordana Choucair | Feb 23, 2022 | Transition to Value
CMS ended its ACO Transformation Track, citing “broader efforts underway” to develop a vision and strategy for accountable care. The ACO Transformation Track was part of an alternative payment demonstration for rural health system transformation, known as the...
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