Tuesday Tidbits

David Ermer–ACA, CMS, Generative AI, OPM, Telehealth–
Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

From Washington DC,

  • Govexec.com offers an interview with OPM’s Deputy Director Rob Shriver.
  • The American Hospital Association informs us
    • “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will select up to eight states to participate in a new voluntary all-payer model that aims to curb health care cost growth, improve population health, and advance health equity by reducing disparities in health outcomes. CMS plans to detail requirements for the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development Model in a funding opportunity notice this fall. Participating states will receive up to $12 million each to implement the model during one of three start dates, with the model concluding in December 2034. CMS expects to begin the pre-implementation period for the first cohort next summer. The model will build on best practices from the Maryland Total Cost of Care model, the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, and the Vermont All-Payer ACO Model.

From Harrisburg, PA,

  • The Pennsylvania Department of State announced,
    • “Starting Sept. 5, 2023, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses from other states who hold multistate licenses through the Nurse Licensure Compact m(NLC) will be able to provide in-person and telehealth services to PA patients. * * * Pennsylvania nurses will be able to apply for a multistate license once the compact has been fully implemented.”
  • Here is a link to nurse.org’s “Compact Nursing States List 2023,” which now includes forty states, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
  • This type of licensing flexibility should help with nursing shortages.

From the Affordable Care Act front, Beyond the Basics provides an updated guide to minimum essential coverage.

From the generative AI front, STAT News now provides a tracking service that serves as a guide to health systems and companies driving the adoption of this important new technology.

Speaking of technology,

  • BioPharma Dive reports
    • “Beam Therapeutics has begun human testing in the U.S. of a first-of-its-kind gene editing medicine for cancer, the company said Tuesday.
    • “Beam, a pioneering developer of a precise gene editing technique known as base editing, said in a short statement that it’s dosed its first patient in a study of the treatment, called BEAM-201. The trial involves patients with an aggressive form of blood cancer known as T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, or T-ALL/T-LL. It will eventually enroll about 100 participants, according to a federal database.
    • “The study’s start makes BEAM-201 the first base editing therapy to enter clinical testing in the U.S., and marks the first time patients have received a cell therapy made by “multiplex editing,” in which several genes are edited. The edits are designed to eliminate expression of four genes known as CD7, TRAC, PDCD1 and CD52.
    • “Beam claims this approach could lead to a more powerful and durable treatment. In its statement, the company noted BEAM-201’s potential to sidestep a variety of issues associated with cell therapies, like propensity for the modified cells to kill one another, or become weaker as time goes on.
    • “Beam also believes the simultaneous edits could yield a more potent donor-derived, or “off the shelf,” cell therapy. Such allogeneic treatments would be more convenient than the personalized CAR-T therapies on the market, but results to date haven’t proven they’re more powerful at killing cancer cells.”
  • Very Buck Rogers.

From the telehealth front,

  • Per Healthcare Dive,
    • “Approximately one-third of behavioral health patients seeking therapy or medication visits said their clinicians did not offer both telehealth and in-person care, according to a study from nonprofit research organization Rand.
    • “The study, published on Tuesday in Health Affairs, revealed that 45% of behavioral health patients did not believe their clinicians considered their preferences for virtual or in-person care. In addition, 32% of respondents said they did not receive their preferred method of treatment.
    • “Despite the lack of choice offered by providers, many patients undergoing behavioral health therapy preferred in-person visits due to the personal nature of the treatment, the ability to build a rapport with providers, and fears around data security and privacy, the report found.”
  • Such reports explain why hub and spoke telemental services are not a solution for mental health parity.

From the human resources front,

  • The Society for Human Resource Management advises,
    • Even though [last week’s] proposed overtime rule is likely to be challenged in court after it is finalized, employers should start examining how it will affect their workplaces, legal experts say.
    • “I don’t think businesses should act now and make concrete changes,” said Jeff Ruzal, an attorney with Epstein Becker Green in New York City. “A preliminary injunction is likely” after the rule is finalized, he said, but employers “should study and audit the workplace” and prepare for the rule to possibly take effect. They should analyze who is exempt and nonexempt and plan for complying “without jeopardizing the business or payroll.”