News

The health care sector should quickly implement patches or mitigations to address 21 new cyber vulnerabilities identified by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in January, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) advised this week.

As urged by the AHA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Feb. 6 corrected an error in the outpatient prospective payment system final rule for calendar year 2024 that reduced by over 40% reimbursement for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a critical treatment option in advanced wound care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday released FAQs clarifying coverage criteria and utilization management requirements for Medicare Advantage plans under its final rule for calendar year 2024, which includes provisions intended to increase program oversight and create better alignment between MA and Traditional Medicare.

The Health Resources and Services Administration Feb. 6 requested vendor proposals to support changes to governance, technology and operation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, as authorized by Congress last year.

In a statement submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee for a hearing Feb. 6 on chronic drug shortages, AHA recommended Congress enact legislation to diversify manufacturing sites and sources for critical pharmaceutical ingredients; support an increase in end-user and supply chain inventories for critical medications; develop a rating system for drug maker quality management processes; identify essential drugs needing more domestic manufacturing capacity; and require drug makers to disclose where their products are made and when demand for essential drugs spikes. 

At its International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction March 17-20 in San Diego, the American Society for Health Care Engineering will present 2024 Vista Awards to the Inova Fairfax (Va.) Medical Campus for its Tower Operation Room Renovation and to Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center for its Central Utility Plant.

The Department of Justice has disrupted a botnet of hundreds of small office and home office routers hijacked by hackers sponsored by the People’s Republic of China in a campaign targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and other organizations.

AHA Feb. 5 voiced support for many provisions in a proposed rule to improve how the No Surprises Act independent dispute resolution process functions, but said the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury still need to address several issues critical to the functionality of the IDR process.

The AHA Next Generation Leaders Fellowship offers an outstanding opportunity for developing and empowering a new generation of hospital and health system leaders.

Northern Light Health in Brewer, Maine, partnered with Morehouse School of Medicine to create a rural residency program for physician assistants.

A bipartisan group of senators Feb. 2 released for stakeholder feedback a discussion draft of legislation to clarify in statute Congress’ intent for the 340B program to help safety net providers maintain, improve and expand patient access to health care services by requiring drug manufacturers that participate in Medicaid and Medicare Part B to provide discounts and rebates to covered entities that serve a disproportionate share of low-income and underserved patients. 

The AHA, joined by five other national associations representing hospitals, Feb. 2 urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case challenging how the Department of Health and Human Services applies Congress’ formula for calculating Disproportionate Share Hospital payments.

Violence in health care settings should never be accepted as “part of the job.”

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Jan. 31 updated its Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit.

AHA Feb. 1 released its 2024 advocacy agenda, which details the association’s key priorities for Congress, the Administration, regulatory agencies and courts.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will accept comments through March 1 at 6 p.m. ET on its advance notice of proposed changes to Medicare Advantage plan capitation rates and Part C and Part D payment policies for calendar year 2025, which the agency estimates will increase MA plan revenues by an average 3.70%.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has issued a final rule updating regulations for Opioid Treatment Programs and standards for opioid use disorder treatment.

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency and FBI Jan. 31 urged small office and home office router manufacturers to eliminate exploitable defects in their products and integrate security into their product design and development, citing recent reports that threat actors known as “Volt Typhoon” and associated with the People’s Republic of China are exploiting defects in these products to compromise networks across U.S. critical infrastructure.

The Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model, which seeks to increase access to treatments for Medicaid enrollees with rare and severe diseases, will initially focus on sickle cell disease, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

Chris Barber, president and CEO of St. Bernards Healthcare, discusses the problems certain MA plan practices can create for patients and their caregivers, especially for rural hospitals and health systems that face a unique set of challenges in caring for their communities.