Amazon in healthcare in 2020, Aspirus Health to buy Ascension hospitals, Ed Jones named 2020 Most Admired CEOs

January 14, 2021

Good Morning NAW Subscribers,

Welcome to 2021! It can only get better, right? I for one am glad to see 2020 in the rearview mirror.

In 2021 we look forward to bringing you great content to help you stay on top of all the current news and trends in the healthcare contracting arena.

If you are not a member of ANAE you missing a ton of premium content in our library. You can join for under $300. Reach out to me to learn more or click here!

Wishing you a great 2021!

John Pritchard

President of ANAE

Publisher of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting

U.S. to Continue Needing 2.2 Billion N95s Per Year Post-Pandemic

The U.S. will continue to need 2.2 billion N95 masks a year, and possibly more, after the Covid-19 pandemic is under control, a top Trump administration official said in an interview with Bloomberg Law.

Domestic production for now is meeting the demand for N95s, with about 181 million expected to be produced by the end of January, said Brig. Gen. David Sanford, director of the supply chain task force.

A critical item needed to make N95 masks, known as meltblown material, is being made in sufficient quantities to meet current demand, Sanford said, but he is looking for more opportunities to invest in the industry.

Amazon moves deeper into healthcare in 2020: 12 things to know

Here are 12 things to know about Amazon's moves in healthcare over the past year:

1. Amazon partnered with CVS Health and Thermo Fisher Scientific Dec. 22 to promote employer-based COVID-19 testing as part of the national strategy to fight the pandemic.

2. Amazon is rumored to be making plans to expand the Amazon Care program, which launched in September 2019, to other large employers. Amazon Care was initially available to just Amazon employees in Seattle and then expanded to all Amazon employees in Washington state. The program provides telemedicine and in-person primary healthcare services.

3. On Dec. 8, Amazon Web Services launched a new service for healthcare and life sciences organizations that aggregates information into a data lake and automatically normalizes it for machine learning. AWS made its existing COVID-19 data lake available to the public to support hospitals, researchers and public health officials April 8.

Aspirus Health to buy Ascension hospitals, clinics in Wisconsin

Aspirus Health (Wausau, WI) has signed an agreement to buy several Wisconsin hospitals and other healthcare facilities from Ascension (St. Louis, MO).

The transition will include Ascension Wisconsin Spirit Medical Transport, 21 physician clinics, and the following Wisconsin hospitals:

Eagle River Hospital (Eagle River, WI)
Good Samaritan Hospital (Merrill, WI)
Howard Young Medical Center (Woodruff, WI)
Our Lady of Victory Hospital (Stanley, WI)
Sacred Heart Hospital (Tomahawk, WI)
St. Mary’s Hospital (Rhinelander, WI)
St. Michael’s Hospital (Stevens Point, WI)

The transition is subject to customary conditions to closing, including regulatory and canonical requirements.

Three Ways to Weather the Next Surge in PPE Demand

According to data from the nonprofit Get Us PPE, PPE requests in October increased for the first time since April. It was also the third month in a row when more than 70% of facilities ran out of at least one type of PPE, reflecting a major challenge that this third wave poses: streamlining the supply chain to get PPE where and when it’s needed.

With a few process changes and technological upgrades, manufacturers can take steps to streamline the supply chain for organizations that urgently need essential supply. Click below to find out how!

Ed Jones of HealthTrust named 2020 Most Admired CEOs

Ed Jones, President and CEO of HealthTrust, was recognized as one of Nashville Business Journal's 2020 most admired CEOs. Check out the congratulatory video below.

Congratulations, Ed!

CMS audits small slice of hospitals for price transparency, probes complaints

CMS is currently auditing a sample of hospitals to see if those facilities are in compliance with the price transparency policy that went into effect Jan. 1. The agency is also probing complaints, a spokesperson said Friday.

If hospitals fail to post the prices they negotiate with insurers they could face a corrective action plan or a fine of $300 per day, CMS said. The agency did not say whether any hospitals had so far faced a financial penalty.

Some researchers expressed frustration over the lack of compliance and that there is no single repository for the information, causing them to hunt and peck around thousands of hospital websites.

Healthcare in 2020: The six major changes and what they mean for 2021 and beyond

The healthcare industry in 2021 and beyond is permanently changed as a result of the global pandemic. For the U.S. health system, 2020 saw six major shifts that set the stage for a fundamental reset for its programs, services, and funding next year:

1-Increased Attention to Public Health

2-Increased Attention to Science

3-Decreased Confidence in Government

4-Growing Social Despair

5-Increased Consumption of Disinformation

6-Increased Private Investor Opportunism

When the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic March 11 and news reports of COVID-19 deaths from the Life Care Center in Seattle began, the U.S. healthcare system’s future was fundamentally altered.

Bill Gates is reported to have said “banking is necessary; banks are not.” The same might be said for healthcare based on the changes likely in 2021. It’s a necessary industry, but its old rules no longer apply.

Capstone Health Alliance names Fred Pane as contract manager for Pharmacy Services

Capstone Health Alliance (Fletcher, NC) announced that Fred Pane, R.Ph., has joined the Capstone Health Alliance team as Contract Manager for Pharmacy Services.

Pane brings a wealth of experience in healthcare pharmacy leadership including working as a director of pharmacy operations in community hospitals as well as an academic health-systems.

He has served on and chaired numerous pharmacy GPO committees while in hospital practice. Pane’s experience also includes serving as senior director of pharmacy affairs at Premier Inc (Charlotte, NC).