Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association Workforce, Vaccines, IV Bags, and more …
INSIDE THE ISSUE
> IV Solutions
> The Importance of Hospitals
> MHA’s Women’s Conference
> Behavioral Health Workforce
> MA Repay Deadline
> Congress’ 12/20 Deadline
> Vaccine Schedule
MONDAY REPORT
Uptick in IV Solutions, But a Shortage in Bags
Baxter has announced new allocation levels for some of its IV products that have been disrupted for months due to Hurricane Helene’s damage to its North Cove production plant in North Carolina.
Baxter says its 0.9% sodium chloride product groups will see increased production, although customers will experience a one- to two-week lead time for products to flow through its supply and distribution network. Its 1000 ml group will increase from 60% to 80%, its 500 ml group from 60% to 90%, and its 250 ml group from 60% to 90%. The company said last Thursday, “While we currently expect that all available lines will be restarted by the end of the year, we do not yet have a specific date for when we expect North Cove production to be fully restored to pre-hurricane levels.” Some Massachusetts hospitals have reported that the improved distribution timetables Baxter has announced since October have not matched the hospitals’ actual allocation experiences.
In a related note, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, which maintains a Medical Devices Shortage List, last week added “empty I.V. bags of all sizes” to the list. An acute increase in demand has caused the shortage, which the FDA expects to last through March 2025.
Hospitals are Often the Only Care Option
The Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare has released a new video that demonstrates how hospitals are often the last, best choice for individuals and families facing complex medical issues.
The video focuses on Beckett, a newborn with a congenital heart defect who required three heart surgeries before being released from the hospital. He recently celebrated his one-year birthday in good health.
“Stories like Beckett’s highlight the essential, multidisciplinary care only hospitals provide, including to the youngest, most vulnerable patients,” the Coalition wrote.
The Coalition advocates for equitable Medicare reimbursement, funding rural health, protecting access to care, growing the healthcare workforce, and holding commercial insurers accountable.
MHA’s Women’s Conference Draws More Than 500 Attendees
“There’s enough room for all of us at the top.”
“Learn from your successes and your failures.”
“When we gain access, we make a commitment to bring others along.”
These are just a few of the many sentiments shared during MHA’s Annual Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference last Thursday at the Westin Seaport.
The Women’s Conference has always been among the association’s most popular events, but its profile has grown considerably within the past several years. Last week’s sold-out conference drew more than 500 attendees, including Representative Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge), former MHA Board Chair Christine Schuster, R.N., and Bisola Ojikutu, M.D., Boston’s commissioner of public health. The conference opened with a welcome message from Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
Schuster, the longtime leader of Emerson Health, discussed the importance of mentorship and lifting up colleagues in professional spaces. She compared the state’s vast network of women leaders to a garden that must be cultivated. “We are all gardeners, if you think about it,” Schuster said to the crowd. “Ask yourself: Who are you mentoring? Whose garden can you water?”
Several key themes were present throughout the day, including the need to devote more research dollars and focus into traditionally neglected areas of women’s health such as menopause, and the need for more women on governing boards. Attendees also brought generous donations for the Women’s Lunch Place.
Registration is now open for MHA’s Annual Meeting on Thursday, January 30, also to be held at the Westin Seaport.
MTF Releases New Report on Behavioral Health Workforce
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation has joined the chorus of groups pointing out the deficiencies in the state’s behavioral healthcare workforce, and calling for a renewed effort to retain existing workers while attracting “new and diverse” individuals to the field.
MTF’s The Behavioral Health Workforce Challenge released last Thursday details recent efforts to build the behavioral health workforce, such as through the MA Repay program (see story below), but also recommends additional actions policymakers should consider outside of those supported by state or federal investments. Examples include reducing barriers to licensure and ensuring the financial sustainability of innovative programs and partnerships.
“The growing need for behavioral health services coupled with an insufficient workforce create far-reaching impacts for the Commonwealth,” MTF writes. “Children with unmet behavioral health needs are less likely to succeed in school resulting in lower levels of academic persistence and graduation at both secondary and postsecondary levels. Poor behavioral health is also a documented contributor to crime, impacting public safety and involving individuals in a criminal justice system that is costly and likely to make physical and mental health issues worse. Broadly speaking, a workforce that cannot meet underlying behavioral health needs has huge economic consequences for the Commonwealth in the form of lost productivity, missed time, and departure from the labor force.”
MHA, whose widely publicized workforce report was cited in the MTF piece, continues to advocate for, among other initiatives to build the workforce, parity in insurer reimbursements for mental health and substance use disorder, as well as the reduction of administrative burdens to lessen caregiver burnout.
Reminder: Loan Repayment Application Deadline is Dec. 12
As MHA has reported previously, behavioral health and primary care providers are eligible to receive student loan repayments through the state’s MA Repay program.
The deadline for applying to receive amounts of up to $300,000 for behavioral health services, or up to $100,000 for primary care is this Thursday, December 12, at 9 p.m. Application decisions will be announced in Spring 2025.
This brochure explains who is eligible and provides links to the applications.
Time is Running Out in Congress
As Congress is committed to ending the session no later than December 20, the next few weeks are expected to see a rush of activity. Foremost is the need to fund the government, as the last Continuing Resolution (CR), passed in September, runs out on the twentieth. Negotiations between House and Senate leaders are focused on how long the next CR will last and if it will contain any large provisions other than the expected disaster funding to help pay for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton relief.
MHA is working with hospitals and hospital associations nationally on key topics in the final weeks of the session, including delaying disproportionate share hospital (DSH) scheduled cuts, extending telehealth and hospital at home flexibilities, and achieving some sort of Medicare physician fee schedule reform.
More than 200 legislators, including many from Massachusetts, have signed on to a bipartisan letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) urging them to act before year’s end to delay the DSH funding cuts.
“Since 2013, Congress has acknowledged the importance of maintaining Medicaid DSH payments by repeatedly passing legislation to delay statutory cuts from going into effect,” the representatives wrote. “On January 1st [2025], Medicaid DSH hospitals are again subject to an $8 billion annual cut – which amounts to nearly half of the federal DSH funding. These cuts will persist through FY2027 and will impact states and hospitals across the country.” In Massachusetts, that DSH funding is incorporated into the state’s 1115 waiver and supports supplemental funding for safety net hospitals as well as the Health Safety Net.
Additionally, the New England Council, of which many MHA hospitals are members, shared this letter with members of the six-state congressional delegation urging Congress to extend Medicare telehealth flexibilities that have been in place since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under current law, these telehealth flexibilities are set to expire on January 1, 2025. Council members highlighted that this is a pivotal time for telehealth policy and exhorted Congress to enact long-term legislation before the flexibilities expire. Earlier this week, Massachusetts Members of Congress Lori Trahan (D) and Stephen Lynch (D) both signed onto a bi-partisan letter that was sent to House and Senate leadership calling for action on the telehealth extension issue.
Vaccine Schedules for 2025
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has approved the 2025 immunization schedules for adults and children, and those recommendations have subsequently been approved by the CDC Director and several professional organizations.
The schedules for children, older children and teens, and adults are located on easy-to-read charts on this CDC page. Diseases that vaccines protect against include: COVID-19, influenza, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, shingles, HPV, pneumococcal and meningococcal infections, Hepatitis A & B, Hib (haemophilus influenzae type b), and Mpox.
This page is for healthcare providers and gives recommendations in determining vaccines for each age group.
Even though the vaccines are for 2025, healthcare providers are urging the public not to delay, but to get the vaccines now. Last week, the Massachusetts Adult Immunization Coalition, the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Families Fighting Flu issued a joint reminder, urging all individuals over the age of six months to be vaccinated for seasonal illnesses. Vaccines have become increasingly politicized and it is unclear if previous recommendations will be altered in the coming months or years.