Iowa news
Shortage of chemotherapy drugs forces treatment delays for some Iowa cancer patients
Cancer patients in Iowa are facing delays in potentially life-saving treatments as two important drugs used in chemotherapy are in very short supply. Dr. Richard Deming, medical director of the Richard Deming Cancer Center at MercyOne in Des Moines, says almost 50% of the cisplatin and carboplatin used in the U.S. were made by a single factory in India, which recently stopped making those drugs. Although the key drugs are being made elsewhere, there’s now such a tight supply and high demand for them that chemotherapy treatments are having to be pushed back. (Iowa Public Radio)
A new insurer has joined Iowa’s Medicaid program. Here’s what you need to know.
Last week, three insurance companies officially began managing Iowa’s privatized Medicaid program. New managed care contracts with private insurance companies to manage Iowa’s $7 billion Medicaid program began July 1, marking a new phase in a program that administers benefits to about 750,000 Iowans who are low-income and disabled. Last Saturday, state contracts with two insurance companies — Molina Healthcare of Iowa and Amerigroup Iowa — which began four-year contracts, as well as Iowa Total Care, are now tasked with administering approximately $7 billion in health care benefits to thousands of Iowans. (Des Moines Register)
UnityPoint emergency medicine residency program to launch in 2024
UnityPoint Health-Des Moines’ new Emergency Medicine Residency Program has received full accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The first class of six residents will begin the program in July 2024. The three-year program will include clinical education and experience in central Iowa’s only Level 1 adult trauma center and tertiary referral center, Iowa Methodist Medical Center, and Iowa’s only Level 2 pediatric trauma center, Blank Children’s Hospital. This will be the second emergency medicine residency program in Iowa. Applications for the program will open in September. (UnityPoint Health)
National news
Diabetes projected to affect 1.3 billion people by 2050
The total number of people living with diabetes worldwide is expected to more than double over the next 30 years, reported researchers of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021. Based on data from 204 countries and territories, approximately 529 million were estimated to be living with diabetes across the world in 2021, a number projected to grow to over 1.31 billion by 2050. (MedPage Today)
Hospital finances show signs of stabilization
Hospital finances showed signs of stabilizing in May, amid slightly improving operating margins, declining expenses and notable increases in outpatient visits. With increases to hospital discharges, emergency department visits and operating room minutes, patients appear to be more comfortable receiving inpatient care. Hospitals’ revenue from outpatient care was more than triple the revenue from inpatient care. While labor costs remain significant, labor expenses per adjusted discharge declined 9% between May 2022 and May 2023. (KaufmanHall)
Health care costs to jump 7% in 2024
Health care costs will increase by a projected 7% in 2024 as the health care industry continues to face high inflation, rising wages and other costs, which are compounded by workforce shortages, according to a report from the PwC Health Research Institute. The report estimates the projected increase in per capita costs of medical services and prescription medicines that affect payers’ group and individual plans. Health insurers use the projection to calculate health plan premiums for the coming year. (Becker’s Hospital CFO Report)