Pandemic-related disruptions likely contributed to the decline, the report said, as pediatricians canceled non-emergency appointments, parents skipped checkups for their children and vaccine requirements were eased for students doing remote learning.
Interviews for the poll were conducted last Thursday to Monday, shortly before a federal judge in Florida struck down the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit.
Some defendants are accused of offering COVID-19 testing to get people to provide their personal identifying information and a saliva or blood sample. That information and the samples were then allegedly used to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for unnecessary, far more expensive tests or services.
Dr. William Husel was accused of ordering the drugs for patients in the Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases that involved at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.
With the dispute resolution portal open, making further changes to the process could be difficult.
Hospitals with the lowest profit margins were sold more than twice as often as those with the highest profit margins.
The Health and Human Services Department's Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center issued a warning about Hive, a ransomware group targeting the healthcare and public health sectors with "double extortion."
If all California providers spent as much on primary care as the highest investing health systems, they would save $2.4 billion in healthcare spending in a single year, according to the study.
Masking has become standard infection control protocol for many providers, and that isn't expected to change as other industries shift their guidelines.
CMS proposed changes like discounting value-based payment measures due to the virus. Trade groups want a higher rate bump.
