News

COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Black, Latino, Native Americans and other communities of color is well-documented and deeply troubling. It’s also the latest in a long history of health inequities and health disparities affecting racial minorities in our society. 

Today, UnitedHealth Group announced a jaw-dropping $6 billion in earnings in a single quarter, but not enough has been said about a big contributor to these profits: not paying for health care services, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack writes in a blog post.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched a television and digital campaign to encourage uninsured Americans to enroll in health coverage through the federally facilitated marketplace before the special enrollment period ends Aug. 15.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released recommendations and guidance for treating plague, which has a high fatality rate if untreated but is treatable with antimicrobial and supportive care.

Initial gun injuries cost hospitals more than $1 billion a year, with costs related to physician fees adding an additional 20% to that number, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The Food and Drug Administration revoked its emergency use authorization for the Curative SARS-Cov-2 Assay test because the manufacturer has transitioned to using other authorized tests for testing offered at its laboratories. 

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health voted to advance to the full committee a number of AHA-supported bills focused on maternal health and social determinants of health.

The House Appropriations Committee voted 33-25 to approve legislation that would provide $253.8 billion in funding for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal year 2022, a 28% increase over the prior fiscal year.

In a letter sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, AHA expressed its continued concerns about audit determinations denying hospitals a “mid-build exception” to the site-neutral payment policy and urged the agency to extend by at least 180 days the July 18 and Sept. 16 deadlines for hospitals to identify and return, respectively, any overpayments.

Congress should not extend Medicare sequestration to help pay for the bipartisan infrastructure framework because health care providers cannot sustain additional Medicare cuts and Medicare funds should not be used to pay for non-health care programs, the AHA, American Medical Association, American Health Care Association, National Association for Home Care & Hospice, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and Association for Clinical Oncology told Senate leaders in a letter. 

Alison Brisson, a member of AHA’s American Society for Health Care Engineering affiliate and director of facilities at Concord Hospital in New Hampshire, shares her reasons for getting the COVID-19 vaccine as part of AHA’s ongoing #MyWhy social media campaign to encourage vaccine confidence among the health care workforce.

Over 1.5 million people selected a 2021 health plan through the federally facilitated marketplace between Feb. 15 and June 30 during the special enrollment period created in response to the COVID-19 emergency, with an additional 600,000 enrolling through the 15 state-based marketplaces, the Department of Health and Human Services reported. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is accepting comments through Aug. 11 on whether to establish a national Medicare coverage policy for monoclonal antibodies to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Drug overdose deaths in the United States rose 29.4% in 2020 to an estimated 93,331, including 69,710 involving opioids, according to preliminary data  released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will convene July 22 to discuss a pair of recent issues related to COVID-19 vaccines.

The Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights held a hearing on surging drug prices and anticompetitive conduct in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program provided states $398 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to distribute to 1,540 small rural hospitals for COVID-19 testing and mitigation.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services late released its calendar year 2022 proposed rule for the physician fee schedule.

State Medicaid agencies can apply until 3 p.m. Aug. 13 for American Rescue Plan Act funding to establish community-based mobile crisis intervention services for individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

The AHA Leadership Summit – one of AHA’s flagship events – will be held virtually July 28-29. AHA Executive Vice President Michelle Hood previews the conference, designed to help health care executives and trustees lead organizational transformation