News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has clarified its inpatient rehabilitation facility medical review guidelines to confirm that auditors should not deny claims solely because a therapy time threshold, commonly referred to as the “3-hour rule,” was not met.

A new online tool from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality allows users to compare county-level hospitalization rates for opioids, alcohol, stimulants and other drugs.

The AHA’s American Society for Healthcare Engineering today announced the recipients of the 2018 Vista Awards, which will be presented to three hospital teams.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released its compliance review priorities for 2018 qualified health plans in the federally-facilitated exchanges.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a pilot telehealth program that will give veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder remote access to psychotherapy and related services.

The AHA and seven other national organizations today urged Congress to include in the omnibus appropriations bill it must act on by March 23 bipartisan legislation they say would reduce premiums, improve affordability and improve the individual health insurance market.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today announced MyHealthEData, a federal initiative to expand patient access to their medical data electronically.

Hospital emergency department visits for suspected opioid overdoses increased 30% from July 2016 through September 2017, to 142,557.

Hospira is voluntarily recalling three lots of the injectable opioid medication Hydromorphone HCl because the glass vials may be broken or cracked.

The AHA and seven other national organizations today urged Congress to “oppose any unwarranted legislative attempts that would undermine the successful efforts by the medical community and professional training organizations to create a unified accreditation system for graduate medical education.”

According to a randomized trial reported today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, opioids are no better than non-opioid medications at treating chronic back pain or hip or knee osteoarthritis pain.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday deferred a proposal by Arkansas to reduce income eligibility for adults in its Medicaid program from 138% to 100% of the federal poverty level.

Hospitals continue to have serious concerns that Anthem's coverage policies for outpatient imaging and emergency care services are detrimental to patients, diminishing access to care and driving care location based on the lowest cost provider, AHA and other hospitals groups told the insurer today.

"In times of disasters, outbreaks and tragedies, communities lean on their hospitals: That fact will never change."

A recent opinion piece in The Hill “gives readers a one-sided, misleading and misinformed view on the issue of site-neutral payment proposals and consolidation in the health field.”

AHA voiced strong support for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposal to expand the types of supplemental benefits that MA plans can offer to better manage beneficiary health.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is accepting applications through May 2 for up to $30 million in cooperative agreements to develop, improve, update or expand quality measures under the Quality Payment Program for clinicians.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today approved a waiver for Arkansas that will require some adult beneficiaries under age 50 to work or participate in job training, community service or other “community engagement” activities.

Hospitals and health systems are using health IT to engage patients, improve care coordination and better communicate across care settings.

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday alerted health care professionals and patients not to use drug products produced by Cantrell Drug Co., including opioid products and other drugs intended for sterile injection, citing serious deficiencies in the company’s compounding operations.