News

AHA today commended the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ efforts to reduce unnecessary burdens and reporting requirements with regard to Medicare Conditions of Participation, but said the agency should continue to require ambulatory surgery centers to have a written transfer agreement with a nearby hospital.

More than 220 organizations, including the AHA, Friday urged Senate committee leaders to consider the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act (H.R. 6082) and encourage Senate leadership to bring the bill to the floor for a vote during the lame-duck session.

The AHA today urged the Health Resources and Services Administration to meet the Jan. 1 effective date it has proposed for its final rule on drug ceiling prices and civil monetary penalties for manufacturers under the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

Critical access hospitals that did not achieve meaningful use in the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program for the 2017 reporting period can apply through Nov. 30 for a hardship exception to avoid a 2017 payment adjustment.

Health care providers and others can apply through Jan.

I am grateful for the time and commitment that people working and volunteering in hospitals and health systems give to their communities every day.

An estimated 28.5 million U.S. residents, or 8.8%, lacked health insurance when surveyed in the first six months of 2018, according to preliminary data released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health care support personnel had the third highest female suicide rate by occupation in 2015 at 11 per 100,000, a 31 percent increase from 2012.

State and local health departments reported a record 59,349 tickborne disease cases in 2017, 22 percent more than in 2016, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, there’s still much to do.

The AHA commended the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation for adopting a holistic approach to examining the links between social risk factors, health care outcomes and value-based payment programs.

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday warned the health care community about complications that arise when pairing pain medications with intrathecal implanted pumps when the medications are not approved for use with those devices, which deliver medicine into spinal fluid.

Atrium Health (formerly Carolinas HealthCare System) today agreed to settle, without financial penalty or admission of wrongdoing, a 2016 Department of Justice lawsuit alleging the health system used its market power to restrict health insurers from encouraging consumers to choose providers that offer better value.

Almost 1.2 million people selected a 2019 health plan through HealthCare.gov Nov. 1-10, including more than 804,000 last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported yesterday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit yesterday affirmed a district court decision that barred the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from using FAQs 33 and 34 in calculating Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital payments for Tennessee hospitals.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today announced blanket waivers from certain Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements to help health care providers meet patients’ needs in areas affected by the California wildfires.

Kentucky Hospital Association President and CEO Mike Rust plans to retire at the end of 2019 after leading the association for 24 years.

AHA today joined more than 80 organizations in urging House and Senate leaders to bring H.R. 1318/S. 1112 to the floor for a vote before yearend. The AHA-supported legislation would provide federal funding for states to develop maternal mortality review committees to better understand maternal complications and identify solutions.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar yesterday declared a public health emergency in California due to the wildfires, and waived or modified certain Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements to help health care providers meet patients’ needs.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar today previewed the agency’s plans to better address social determinants of health.