News

The AHA and other national organizations representing the nation’s hospitals and health systems urged congressional leaders not to include in the next COVID-19 relief package any surprise medical billing legislation that could further destabilize hospitals’ finances as they work to recover from an unprecedented public health emergency.

On this Advancing Health podcast, Joy Lewis, AHA vice president for strategic policy planning, and Allen Smart, principal at Winston-Salem, N.C.-based PhilanthropywoRx, discuss the imperative for rural hospital leaders to develop long-term strategies where community engagement and philanthropy meet for the good of communities’ health.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Aug. 5 at 2 p.m. ET will host a webinar to provide an overview and panel discussion on a competition to spur improvements in postpartum mental health care in rural communities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Aug. 4 at 2 p.m. ET will host a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity webinar on telehealth’s benefits and challenges, based on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response recently posted these new and updated COVID-19 resources at its Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange.

The Food and Drug Administration released a new template to help commercial developers submit emergency use authorization requests for COVID-19 diagnostic tests that can be performed in non-laboratory settings and available by prescription or over-the-counter.

The Federal Reserve July 30 at 2 p.m. ET will host a webinar for nonprofit organizations on its new lending facilities under the Main Street Lending Program.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated its COVID-19 FAQs to address emerging questions regarding Medicare fee-for-service billing.

The AHA urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services not to resume medical review activities, including Recovery Audit Contractor-initiated audits, which CMS suspended on March 30 due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

A new rapid expert consultation report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlines clinical staffing considerations when implementing crisis standards of care.

Six national organizations representing hospitals, including the AHA, urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to delay the start of repayments associated with the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Programs. The first hospitals and health systems to receive accelerated payments are scheduled to start repaying them soon.

A blog co-authored by Elisa Arespacochaga, vice president of AHA’s Physician Alliance and interim executive lead of AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, and Derek Robinson, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, highlights the 13 newly announced Illinois-based hospitals who are AHA and BCBSIL’s recipients of health equity grants.

The Cleveland Clinic will partner with the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University to host on Tuesday, Sept. 29, the first presidential debate between presumptive nominees Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced.

A new AHA issue brief outlines five actions that hospitals and health systems can take to address housing instability and improve health in their communities during COVID-19.

Kittitas Valley Healthcare in Ellensburg, Wash., was among the nation’s first hospitals to feel the impact of COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorizations to Xiamen Biotime Biotechnology Co. and Access Bio Inc. for serology-based tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies indicating recent or prior infection.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation signed a letter of interest to provide a $765 million loan to Eastman Kodak Company to repurpose and expand its facilities in Rochester, N.Y., and St. Paul, Minn., to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients in short supply.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority issued a $265 million task order reserving vaccine manufacturing capacity through December 2021 at an advanced manufacturing center in Texas.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released an updated snapshot of the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicare population, which includes COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations through June 20 and the first data for American Indian/Alaskan Native Medicare beneficiaries.

The National Association of Medicaid Directors asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to suspend finalizing the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule while states respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on state budgets.