IHA Daily Briefing: April 2
In Today’s Issue
CDC Confirms H5N1 Virus Infection Reported in a Person in the U.S.
Study: Mental Health Emergencies in Kids More Severe During the Pandemic
CMS Payment Updates for 2025 Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D
Celebrating National Minority Health Month
COVID-19 Information
Briefly Noted
Leading the News
CDC Confirms H5N1 Virus Infection Reported in a Person in the U.S.
A person in the U.S. has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus (“H5N1 bird flu”), as reported by Texas and confirmed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This person had exposure to dairy cattle in Texas presumed to be infected with HPAI A(H5N1) viruses, according to a news release issued by the CDC on Monday. CDC says the patient reported eye redness (consistent with conjunctivitis), as their only symptom, and is recovering. The patient was told to isolate and is being treated with an antiviral drug for flu. This infection does not change the H5N1 bird flu human health risk assessment for the U.S. general public, which CDC considers to be low. However, the CDC advises people with close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection.
CDC has interim recommendations for prevention, monitoring, and public health investigations of HPAI A(H5N1) viruses. CDC is working with state health departments to continue to monitor workers who may have been in contact with infected or potentially infected birds/animals and test those people who develop symptoms. CDC also has recommendations for clinicians on monitoring, testing, and antiviral treatment for patients with suspected or confirmed avian influenza A virus infections.
This is the second person reported to have tested positive for influenza A(H5N1) viruses in the United States, according to the CDC. A previous human case occurred in 2022 in Colorado. Human infections with avian influenza A viruses, including A(H5N1) viruses, are uncommon but have occurred sporadically worldwide.
For more information or access to additional resources, click here to visit the CDC’s website.
Study: Mental Health Emergencies in Kids More Severe During the Pandemic
A new study found that during the pandemic pediatric emergency departments (EDs) saw more children and adolescents who needed a psychiatric admission, as well as an increase in severe conditions, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and substance use disorders. A news release issued by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago states the higher demand for a psychiatric inpatient bed often exceeded availability, resulting in over 12-hour stays in the ED awaiting admission for nearly 20 percent of children with mental health emergencies in 2022, up from 7 percent before the pandemic. Findings were published in Academic Emergency Medicine.
“Our data shows that pediatric emergency departments saw more severe mental health presentations during the pandemic, even while the actual number of visits decreased in 2022,” said lead author Jennifer Hoffmann, MD, MS, emergency medicine physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “The dramatic increase in prolonged ED stays attests to the strain on the system and difficulties finding appropriate psychiatric care for children, whether in the hospital or in the community.”
Dr. Hoffmann and colleagues retrospectively studied mental health ED visits by children aged 5 to less than 18 years at nine U.S. hospitals participating in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Registry from 2017 to 2022. They described these visits by period – pre-pandemic (January 2017-February 2020), early pandemic (March 2020-December 2020), mid pandemic (2021) and late pandemic (2022). In addition to the increased severity of mental health emergencies, they found that during the mid and late pandemic, mental health ED visits increased beyond expected rates among girls, but not among boys.
CMS Payment Updates for 2025 Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Rate Announcement for the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug (Part D) Programs that updates payment policies for these programs and ensures payment accuracy.
According to CMS, the Rate Announcement complements policies in the CY 2025 MA and Part D proposed rule that would strengthen protections for the millions of people who rely on MA and Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, which will be finalized in the coming days. Under this CY 2025 Rate Announcement, payments from the government to MA plans are expected to increase on average by 3.70 percent, or over $16 billion, from 2024 to 2025. The federal government is projected to pay between $500 and $600 billion in Medicare Advantage payments to private health plans in 2025.
CMS says this announcement finalizes annual updates to MA payment growth rates and changes to the MA and Part D payment methodologies to improve payment accuracy. For more information, click here.
Celebrating National Minority Health Month
April is National Minority Health Month in the United States. According to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), the annual observance aims to build awareness about the health disparities that persist among racial and ethnic minority and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations and encourages everyone to take action to end these inequities.
This year's theme, “Be the Source for Better Health: Improving Health Outcomes Through Our Cultures, Communities, and Connections,” is about understanding how the unique environments, cultures, histories, and circumstances (known as social determinants of health, or SDOH) of racial and ethnic minority and AI/AN populations impact their overall health.
According to HHS, in 1915, Booker T. Washington established National Negro Health Week, which later became National Minority Health Month. This month-long celebration has evolved into a vital platform for encouraging people to access health care and take other actions to improve their wellbeing.
For access to a toolkit, resources and other materials, click here.
COVID-19 Information
The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) has launched a weekly Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard that will be updated weekly on Friday. This report provides the public with the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data.
Click here to visit the IDPH COVID-19 resources webpage. IDPH will continue to report the weekly number of people with COVID-19 admitted to hospitals from emergency departments, deaths and vaccinations, with COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information also reported through the dashboard of the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System.
Briefly Noted
Ahead of World Health Day, focused on ‘My Health, My Right’, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the launch of S.A.R.A.H., a digital health promoter prototype with enhanced empathetic response powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). According to the WHO, S.A.R.A.H. is a Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health that represents an evolution of AI-powered health information avatars, using new language models and cutting-edge technology. It can engage users 24 hours a day in 8 languages on multiple health topics, on any device. To learn more, click here.
Why Walking Isn’t Enough When It Comes to Exercise
TIME reported (3/28) walking is often thought of as a mere mode of transportation: a way to get from point A to point B. As you walk, “your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves—even your abdominals, biceps, and shoulders—are all using oxygen to contract,” says Ali Ball, an exercise physiologist and outpatient cardiac rehab/wellness coordinator at OSF HealthCare in Urbana, Ill.
Why a bill meant to stop surprise medical bills hasn’t worked
Stat reported (4/1) just when you thought things couldn’t get weirder, UnitedHealth Group plans to buy Steward Health Care’s physician practice. The experts I spoke with said this deal is different from UnitedHealth’s usual fare because these doctors are affiliated with a hospital chain. UnitedHealth usually goes for independent groups.
Measles cases jump 51% in 1 week, CDC data shows
Becker’s Hospital Review reported measles cases have increased sharply in the U.S. over the past week, new CDC data shows. The agency has confirmed 97 total cases in 17 states as of March 28. This tally is up from 64 cases a week prior and represents a 51.6% increase in confirmed cases. In 2023, the CDC reported just 58 total cases.
Midwestern towns are eager for the visitors – and dollars – coming their way with the eclipse
NPR reported (3/25) small towns within the path of a celestial event are gearing up for a massive influx of visitors and dollars. For many in the Midwest, April 8 – the date of the total eclipse – has been circled on their calendars for years.