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What We're Reading: Vaccine Mandate for Active-Duty Troops; Rising Prevalence of Heat Waves; Readmission Risk in Nursing Homes
Department of Defense details plan on a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all active-duty personnel; United Nations climate change report addresses likelihood of future extreme weather events tied to global warming; Government Accountability Office report finds greater readmission risk in understaffed skilled nursing facilities.
Department of Defense to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine
In a memo sent yesterday by Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Lloyd Austin, he recommended for all DOD military and civilian personnel to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and suggested that a vaccine mandate will be implemented at a later date. As reported by NPR, the Pentagon is not yet able to issue a vaccine mandate until a COVID-19 vaccine receives full approval from the FDA unless it obtains a presidential waiver, which Austin plans to ask for by mid-September. President Joe Biden, in a White House statement released in tandem with the Pentagon memo, strongly supported a vaccine mandate for service members.
UN Report Addresses Growing Prevalence of Extreme Weather
As summarized by Reuters, a report issued yesterday by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicated that extreme heat waves that previously struck once every 50 years are now expected to occur once each decade due to global warming, with other extreme weather events such as droughts and downpours also now more likely to happen. Notably, increased global warming was associated with significantly more heat waves than all other extreme weather events, in which twice-in-a-century heat waves could happen approximately every 6 years with 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming and every 1 to 2 years with 4 degrees Celsius of warming.
Greater Readmission Risk in Low-Staffed Nursing Homes
A report published yesterday by the Government Accountability Office found that understaffed skilled nursing facilities exhibited higher readmission rates for patients than facilities that employed more nurses. As reported by Newsblock, readmission rates were found to decrease as staffing levels increased, with 2265 hospital readmissions potentially preventable in facilities with fewer nurses. Furthermore, weekend staffing declines may contribute to adverse findings, as average skilled nursing staff were found in the report to decline by 42% on weekends compared with Monday through Friday.
Navigating Medicare's Part D Subsidy Program to Achieve Value-Based Care
May 26th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the lead researcher from a study published in the May 2023 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about the impact of low-income subsidies on the uptake and equitable use of expensive orally administered antimyeloma therapy.
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Commonwealth Fund Report Details Pervasive Racial and Ethnic Disparities in US Health Care, Outcomes
April 18th 2024Using 25 health system performance indicators, the Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report evaluated racial and ethnic disparities in health care and health outcomes both within and across US states and highlighted the urgent need for equitable health care policies and practices in the US.
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Reaching Rural America: Value-Based Care Solutions for Systemic Health and Social Inequalities
March 7th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Jennifer Schneider, MD, co-founder and chief executive officer of Homeward, a value-based care provider aiming to improve access to high-quality care in rural communities through tech-enabled clinical services, partnerships with local physicians and health plans, and community-level demographic data.
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