DataPoint

PoliticoPRO’s DataPoint publications provide a quick, high-level analysis of the latest data available on issues important to hospitals and the healthcare community:

February 2021
Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Use Surges in the Pandemic
Non-prescribed fentanyl and methamphetamine use increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by specialty laboratory Millennium Health.

June 2020
What You Need to Know About the Opioid Crisis
Federal health officials are deeply concerned that the coronavirus and resulting economic crash could exacerbate the nation’s addiction crisis.

May 2020
What you need to know about Congressional Coronavirus Aid
The growing health and economic crisis hit public and private entities in all sectors hard, and the federal government continues to face pressure to mitigate the damage.

April 2020
What you need to know about economic relief oversight
The coronavirus pandemic and its swift devastation of the U.S. economy pushed Congress to pass the $2 trillion rescue package in March.

March 25, 2020
Where the U.S. exports medical supplies
The U.S. exported $38.4 billion in medical supplies in 2019, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and compared with $45.6 billion in imports for the same year.

March 24, 2020
Where the U.S. gets its medical supplies
The U.S. imported $45.6 billion in medical supplies in 2019, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Imports have increased annually for at least the past five years.

March 23, 2020
Federal health emergency preparedness programs cut 30 percent since 2010
Since 2010, funding for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement and the Hospital Preparedness Program have been cut by 20.4 percent and 46.5 percent respectively, when adjusting for inflation.

March 9, 2020
How the drug overdose epidemic varies by age
The number of overdose deaths in the U.S. declined significantly in 2018, with every age group except seniors above age 65 experiencing significant declines. The youngest age brackets saw the largest reductions.

Feb. 25, 2020
How the drug overdose epidemic is evolving
In a sharp reversal of recent trends, drug overdose deaths in the United States fell significantly in 2018, according to the latest data from CDC.

Feb. 19, 2020
How U.S. primary care doctors compare to international peers
A Commonwealth Fund survey of primary care doctors in 11 selected high-income countries shows that U.S. physicians lag their international peers on several measures of care coordination, but excel on certain measures of health IT.

Feb. 12, 2020
Trump's HHS budget proposes major long-term cuts, but offers few details
President Donald Trump’s budget request for fiscal 2021 proposes a 9 percent cut to the Department of Health and Human Services, resulting in a total budget of $96.4 billion dollars.

Feb. 7, 2020
New surprise billing proposal by Ways and Means pushes for arbitration guided by median rates
The House Ways and Means Committee has released a long-expected plan to eliminate surprise medical bills, setting up a showdown between several competing proposals.

Jan. 23, 2020
The growing use of buprenorphine to address the opioid epidemic
A new study has calculated for the first time the overall rate of buprenorphine use in the United States, which doubled between 2009 and 2018. The authors call attention to lagging rates of use among young adults.

Jan. 16, 2020
This year’s atypical flu season puts children at greater risk
According to the latest estimates from CDC, this year’s flu season is mild overall but may be affecting young children more than usual due to an unusual variant of the virus circulating this year.

Jan. 10, 2020
Medicaid expansion now covers over two-thirds of potential enrollees
Medicaid expansion is now fully implemented in Idaho and Utah, but has been delayed in Nebraska. A bipartisan deal could bring the expansion to Kansas next.

Jan. 2, 2020
Health disparities between urban and rural areas have grown
According to a new report compiled by researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics and Texas A&M University, differences between urban and rural areas on several key health indicators have increased in the past decade.

Dec. 23, 2019
Record number of rural hospitals closed in 2019
More rural hospitals closed in 2019 than in any other year since 2005, even though the year isn’t officially over yet. Nineteen rural hospitals had closed as of Dec. 22 — a new record since 17 hospitals closed in 2015.