News

President Trump today unveiled his administration’s blueprint to lower prescription drug prices, which also solicits input on potential actions the Department of Health and Human Services may take to improve competition and negotiation and lower costs.

About half of mental health facilities and one-third of substance use treatment facilities reported having smoke-free campuses in 2016, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Organizations and groups that provide palliative or end-of-life care may apply through Aug. 13 for the 2019 Circle of Life Awards, which honor outstanding and innovative palliative and end-of-life care programs.

We at the AHA are honored to represent America’s hospitals and health systems and are proud to be your partner on this journey. As National Hospital Week draws to a close, thank you for all you do every day to advance health in America.

The House last night voted 230 to 185 to approve the Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act (H.R. 5645), AHA-supported legislation that would standardize the merger review process for the two federal antitrust agencies.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies today held a hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services’ funding request for fiscal year 2019.

The number of Medicare Part D beneficiaries who reach the catastrophic coverage phase of the prescription drug benefit rose by more than 50% between 2013 and 2016.

Nearly 30,000 Americans aged 65 or older died from a fall in 2016, up from 18,334 in 2007, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee today approved six AHA-supported bills to address the opioid crisis.

The White House Office of Management and Budget yesterday proposed that Congress rescind $15.4 billion in prior appropriations to federal programs, including nearly $7 billion from the Children’s Health Insurance Program and $800 million from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Reducing regulations and expanding care models that ensure coordination and reward performance are two ways to address health care prices, AHA General Counsel Melinda Hatton said today during a Kaiser Family Foundation panel discussion focused on the issue.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo yesterday declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease after laboratory results confirmed two cases, the World Health organization reports.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar today at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, DC, laid out the department’s four areas of emphasis for creating a value-based health care delivery system and urged hospital and health system leaders to help accelerate progress.

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee today held a hearing on draft legislation that would align 42 CFR Part 2 regulations on confidentiality of substance use disorder records with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rule.

AHA today submitted comments to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on draft legislation to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today released the agency’s strategy to promote high-quality health care for all rural Americans, address the unique economics of providing rural health care, and bring a rural focus to CMS health care delivery and payment reforms.

The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today voted 20-2 to approve legislation to streamline and consolidate the Department of Veterans Affairs’ community care programs.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday authorized New Hampshire to require certain adults in its Medicaid premium assistance program to work or participate in other “community engagement” activities, such as job training, at least 100 hours per month to remain eligible.

In an ad running this week in multiple publications, the AHA and its American Organization of Nurse Executives subsidiary thank the 5.5 million men and women “who are always there, ready to care” in America’s hospitals and health systems.

Geisinger will expand its precision medicine project beyond research to preventive care, the Danville, PA-based integrated health system announced Sunday