Informational Medicaid IMPACT Revalidations Town Hall Dec. 18

The Illinois Dept. of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) is currently conducting IMPACT Medicaid provider revalidations. To assist providers with navigating the IMPACT enrollment system and answer questions, HFS continues to host monthly, virtual town hall meetings. IHA recommends hospitals participate in the December town hall meetings if you have an upcoming revalidation. The next town hall is Dec. 18 from 10-10:45 a.m. CT. Click here to register or view the town hall meeting schedule.
 
IHA urges all providers to check their revalidation cycle due date and submit necessary information to complete their revalidation. To view the revalidation due dates of servicing providers affiliated with your hospitals, click here for step-by-step instructions. If you do not complete your revalidation, you will be disenrolled from IMPACT and providers can no longer bill for services provided to Illinois Medicaid enrollees, including those enrolled in managed care organizations.

IDPH Releases Latest Maternal Mortality Data Report
The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) recently announced the release of the latest Illinois Maternal Mortality Data Report, analyzing data regarding deaths that occurred during pregnancy or within one year of pregnancy from 2021- 2022. IDPH convenes two Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) to identify causes of death and determine whether a death was pregnancy-related. The committees also assess preventability, identify contributing factors, and develop recommendations to prevent future deaths. 

During 2021–2022, an average of 110 Illinois women died each year during pregnancy or within one year after pregnancy, which is an overall increase during this period compared with previous reporting cycles. The MMRCs determined that 91% of pregnancy-related deaths during this period were potentially preventable. 

Notably, Black women were more than twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related conditions and three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related medical complications compared with white women. Geographic patterns also persisted, with Chicago and other urban counties experiencing the highest pregnancy-related mortality. Substance use disorder was the leading cause of pregnancy-related death, followed by thrombotic embolism, COVID-19, and hemorrhage. Timing of deaths revealed additional prevention opportunities, as about one-third of pregnancy-related deaths occurred more than 60 days postpartum. 

The report outlines key recommendations to prevent future pregnancy-related deaths, targeting action across providers, hospitals, state systems, community-based organizations, and payers. Recommendations are organized across the Birth Equity Blueprint goals of optimizing access to healthcare, improved quality of services, better coordination across systems, and data-driven surveillance and solutions.

You can view the full 2021-22 Maternal Mortality Data Report here. You can also get more information on the IDPH website at Maternal Health.

HNI Dec. 3 Panel: The Next Frontier for AI in Healthcare
Healthcare organizations are using artificial intelligence to cut administrative costs and address labor concerns, and see the potential for improved diagnoses and more effective treatment decisions. But as the capabilities of artificial intelligence increase, its full implications are not yet known, and regulators have not been able to keep up. There’s also concern that it could exacerbate disparities.

Health News Illinois has assembled an expert panel on Dec. 3 to examine the current state of artificial intelligence in healthcare and what’s on the horizon.

Panelists:

• Dr. Abel Kho, Director, Institute for AI in Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Dr. Jon Handler, Senior Fellow, Innovation, OSF HealthCare
• Hector Rodriguez, Vice President of IT, Humboldt Park Health
• Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield

The event will take place at 320 S. Canal Street in Chicago. Registration and networking begins at 8:30 a.m. CT. The panel discussion begins at 9 a.m. CT. Click here to register. 

Medical Device Recalls: Life2000 Ventilation System, BD Aleris Pump, Distal Access Platform
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a number of recall notices, including a notice that Baxter is recalling the Life2000 Ventilation System due to a cybersecurity issue. While no serious injuries or deaths have been reported due to this issue, if an unauthorized person were to gain physical access to an unattended device they could potentially change device therapy settings or access device data to cause the device to malfunction or fail. The FDA is also aware that Balt USA is recalling their Mega Ballast Distal Access Platform (originally cleared as Next Generation Access Platform) due to a life-threatening manufacturing defect; no injuries or deaths associated with the issue have been reported. 

Finally, the FDA said Becton Dickinson has issued a letter to affected customers recommending users take additional precautions with Alaris Pump Modules that have been dropped or severely jarred. Dropping the Alaris Pump Module may cause damage to internal components that may not be apparent or readily visible, which may cause the device to malfunction—potentially causing serious injury. Two serious injuries have been reported as a result of this issue.

The Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) provides the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data. IDPH also tracks COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information through the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System dashboard.

Briefly Noted

Leading the News

Nonpartisan think tank identifies Illinois' most effective state legislators

Chicago Sun-Times

Nearly 200 lawmakers convene at the Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield every year to craft bills, negotiate them with various interest groups and pass them onto Gov. JB Pritzker. It’s a job often done in relative obscurity, and sometimes those lawmakers get a bad rap for how seemingly little they do. But the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a nonpartisan think tank involving Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia, identified those it says actually get things done.

Tier 2 pension reform bill moves forward, but Pritzker says there’s ‘a lot more work’ to do

WSIL

A House panel last week advanced a bill aimed at reforming a state pension plan known as the “Tier 2” system, but only with the understanding that negotiations will continue and no final action will be taken until next spring at the earliest.

Critical access hospitals by state 

Becker’s Hospital Review

There are 1,386 critical access hospitals across 45 states, according to data from CMS as of Nov. 23.