COVID-19 Intel Center
As our healthcare industry works together to make near- and long-term decisions about COVID-19, our public health, vaccine, and policy experts are here to help decipher the facts and navigate downstream implications for the healthcare system.
Podcast: E7 – Get the Facts on COVID-19: Post-Acute Care
Tune into the seventh episode of our series that focuses on COVID-19. In episode 7, Avalere experts from the Health Plans and Provider’s practice discuss the short- and long-term implications for post-acute care as a result of COVID-19.
Treatment Disruption due to COVID-19 Poses Challenges to Practices in OCM
Oncology practices with a substantial proportion of Oncology Care Model (OCM) episodes in areas with high numbers of COVID-19 cases—such as Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania—may face new challenges in containing total expenditure below target amounts.
FDA Guidance on Digital Devices for Mental Health During COVID-19
To protect the public’s health during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) released guidance expanding the availability of digital health therapeutic devices and applications for psychiatric disorders by clarifying which regulatory requirements it does not plan on enforcing as well as which products do not necessitate FDA oversight. This guidance intends to limit extraneous contact between patients (users) and providers by providing regulatory flexibility for low risk products. The policies will last until the national public health emergency ends.
Patients Using DMARDs for Autoimmune Diseases May Encounter Access Challenges
As COVID-19 deaths increase, the FDA is evaluating and considering approval of treatments more quickly, but the rush to find treatment options is creating new access considerations for patients and providers.
Considerations for the Role of Pharmacies and the Retail Pharmacy Business Model in Response to COVID-19
As COVID-19 continues to stress the US healthcare system, pharmacists and retail pharmacies may help respond to the pandemic.
Provider Impact of COVID-19 Telehealth Policies by Specialty
Approximately ⅓ of physician services payments are eligible for telehealth reimbursement under Medicare (fee-for-service) FFS through existing Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance as of January 2020, in addition to temporary coding guidance specific to COVID-19 effective as of March 1, 2020. Avalere’s analysis highlights the immediate potential for specific physician specialties to utilize telehealth based on temporary flexibilities regarding which procedures are eligible for telehealth reimbursement.
COVID-19 Complicates Access to Provider-Administered Autoimmune Treatments
The large-scale disruptions resulting from COVID-19 are significantly reshaping how patients receive care. In particular, patients taking infused and injectable drugs administered by a healthcare professional at a physician office, infusion center, or hospital outpatient department now face greater challenges receiving their medications.
Two-Thirds of Seniors Have High-Risk Conditions in Counties with the Most COVID-19 Cases
Avalere analysis finds that in the top 25 US counties with highest number of COVID-19 diagnoses, two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries have 1 or more high-risk medical conditions.
Podcast: E6 – Get the Facts on COVID-19: Oncology Care and Delivery
Avalere experts discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected oncology care and delivery, and the Oncology Care Model (OCM).
COVID-19 Considerations for Medicare Advantage Plans
The COVID-19 pandemic will have ongoing, market-wide implications as Medicare Advantage (MA) plans contend both with responding to the virus and the disruption to their normal activities.
Home Testing Can Keep People Safe and Get Them Back to Work—Here’s How
On April 7, Gillian Woollett authored a Health Affairs blog piece with Ge Bai from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and Bruce Pyenson from Milliman about the role that testing plays in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
What COVID-19 May Mean for Future FDA Regulatory Oversight
The FDA has adjusted its priorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the agency is expediting decisions on testing, therapies, and vaccines on a daily basis.
COVID-19: Future Considerations for Biopharma
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, stakeholders across the healthcare system are facing new realities that will affect the environment in which drugs are commercialized and accessed.
State Legislature Suspensions due to COVID-19 Leave Policy Agendas Unfinished
In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a majority of state legislatures have either suspended their ongoing legislative sessions or adjourned sine die, which marks the definitive end of a state’s session, earlier than originally scheduled.
What the COVID-19 Pandemic Will Mean for Drug Development
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, FDA has announced actions that may have much broader implications for drug development, lifecycle management, and oversight.
Where We Stand on COVID-19 Treatments
Globally, the need to flatten the epidemic curve of COVID-19 cases has become the top public health priority to save lives and minimize the burden on the health care system. In the absence of treatments and prophylactics for the novel coronavirus, social distancing and quarantine strategies continue to be implemented in the US.
New Federal Rule Could Affect Infusion Site of Care Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a new Interim Final Rule (IFR) that is intended to allow additional beneficiaries, especially those who are at high-risk, to receive home infusions amid COVID-19 transmission concerns. Specifically, the CMS clarified the definition of “homebound” under the Medicare Home Health Benefit and temporarily suspended enforcement of the National and Local Coverage Determinations (NCD and LCD) related to home infusion services. Uncertainties remain as to how these new flexibilities will be utilized, as well as how these flexibilities could impact treatment outcomes.
Webinar: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Health Insurance Industry
Our panel of experts engaged in an in-depth discussion of the rapidly evolving regulatory environment surrounding COVID-19 testing and treatment and the strategic, financial, and operational challenges this disease presents for health insurers.
Podcast: E5 – Get the Facts on COVID-19: The Healthcare Landscape and Policy Debate
Tune into the fifth episode of our series that focuses on COVID-19. In episode 5, Avalere experts from the Policy practice discuss how COVID-19 has impacted the healthcare landscape and policy debate.
Ensuring COVID-19 Vaccine Affordability
On March 30, Avalere policy experts published a piece in the Health Affairs blog about the existing programs in place to ensure patient access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines.
