News

It’s that time of year again … time to get a flu vaccine. We know that getting a flu vaccine is the best defense against seasonal influenza viruses and potentially severe consequences including hospitalization and death. And this flu season, many people can get a COVID-19 vaccine or booster at the same time.

The National Security Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and FBI yesterday urged U.S. critical infrastructure and other organizations to take certain actions to protect their systems from known vulnerabilities that China state-sponsored actors continue to exploit to target intellectual property and sensitive networks. In a separate presentation, the Department of Health and Human Services yesterday warned health care organizations that threat actors are increasingly using legitimate network security tools for malicious purposes.

Hospitals and health systems added 27,500 jobs in September, while U.S. jobs overall increased by 263,000, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As a precaution in response to the recent Ebola outbreak in Uganda, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection today began routing airline passengers destined for the United States who have been in Uganda within the previous 21 days to one of five airports for enhanced screening, the U.S. Embassy in Uganda announced.

COVID-19 vaccinations are associated with over 650,000 fewer hospitalizations and 300,000 fewer deaths in the Medicare population through December 2021, saving an estimated $16 billion in direct medical costs, the Department of Health and Human Services reported today.

The AHA is committed to helping hospitals and health systems support their people today, prepare them for tomorrow and build a pathway for the future.

More than 2.5 million students in grades 6-12 reported using electronic cigarettes in the past 30 days when surveyed this year, including 14% of high school students and 3% of middle school students, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today.

Public and private entities may apply through Jan. 6 for up to $100,000 each to plan and develop integrated health care networks to expand access to basic health care services, coordinate and improve care and outcomes, and advance health equity for rural underserved populations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today issued an advisory to remind U.S. clinicians of best practices for evaluating patients for suspected Ebola in the wake of the recent outbreak in Uganda.

The COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy Evusheld may not prevent COVID-19 caused by certain variants of the virus, the FDA announced this week.

Increasing bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccinations this year to 2020-2021 flu vaccination rates could prevent an additional 75,000 deaths and 745,000 hospitalizations and avert $44 billion in medical costs over the next six months, researchers estimate in a Commonwealth Fund blog post.

Nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and tribal organizations can apply though Jan. 6 for up to $6 million each to retrain current and former nurses and frontline health care workers.

CMS seeks comments through Dec. 6 on creating a National Directory of Healthcare Providers and Services to help patients locate providers and compare health plan networks, and reduce directory maintenance burden on providers and payers. 

Effective Oct. 1 for five years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will pay Average Sales Price plus 8%, rather than ASP plus 6%, for biosimilars whose average sales price does not exceed the price of the reference biological product. The payment increase was included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Operating margins for U.S. hospitals and health systems were down 24% in August compared to a year ago, driven in large part by a 7.2% increase in labor expenses, according to data from over 900 hospitals reported yesterday by Kaufman Hall.

The Department of Health and Human Services will begin restoring a payment rate of average sales price plus 6% for 340B drug claims in about two weeks, the department told a United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

The AHA’s American Organization for Nursing Leadership affiliate has elected four new members to its board of directors effective Jan. 1.

Nancy Myers, AHA’s vice president of leadership and system innovation, and Marisa Scala-Foley, director of the Aging and Disability Business Institute, discuss how hospitals and health systems are partnering with their Area Agencies on Aging to address the health and social needs of older community members.

Price increases for over 1,200 drugs exceeded inflation between July 2021 and July 2022, including many drugs used to treat cancer and other chronic conditions, the Department of Health and Human Services reported Friday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra yesterday declared a public health emergency for South Carolina to address the health impacts of Hurricane Ian, and waived or modified certain Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements to ensure sufficient health care items and services are available.