News

Most health insurers must cover the updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna without cost sharing effective Sept. 11, when the Food and Drug Administration authorized or approved the vaccines, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra reminded the payer community Sept. 22, citing reports that some consumers have experienced coverage denials when seeking the updated vaccines.

Hear how Northwestern Medicine is using digital technology to better prepare teams to work in the new world of health care, and why a digital mindset is vital to care transformation.

The AHA Sept. 22 released a new infographic highlighting many ways hospitals and health systems advance health and support their communities.

President Biden Sept. 22 established the first White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to reduce gun violence.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Sept. 21 launched a rulemaking process to remove medical bills from credit reports by releasing a document that outlines proposals under consideration.

As we’ve seen from recent media reports, Congress — and especially the House right now — continues to struggle to put together a plan to keep the government funded and avoid a potential shutdown that few want to see.

The AHA’s American Society for Health Care Risk Management will host the ASHRM23 Annual Conference Oct. 1-4 in Minneapolis, bringing together professionals from across the field to discuss the latest strategies and advancements in risk management.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response yesterday awarded $600 million for 12 domestic COVID-19 test manufacturers to expand capacity.

Nearly 500,000 children and other individuals who were improperly disenrolled from Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program will regain their coverage, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Sept. 21.

The departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury yesterday released a proposed rule that would increase the administrative fee for disputes initiated under the No Surprises Act independent dispute resolution process from $50 to $150 per party per dispute, which would remain in effect until changed by subsequent notice-and-comment rulemaking.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today voted 14-7 to advance as amended to the full Senate the Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Expansion Act (S. 2840), legislation that would cut hospitals and health systems to fund community health centers and health care workforce initiatives.

The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation Sept. 20 recognized 25 state medical boards for changing invasive and stigmatizing mental health questions in their licensing applications, a 47% increase from last year, and 12 health systems (including 75 hospitals and 59 urgent care centers) for making these changes to credentialing applications.

Karie Gibson, a licensed clinical psychologist who leads one of the FBI’s five behavioral analysis units, shares a behavioral threat assessment approach to violence prevention for hospitals and health care teams.

As millions of people are losing their Medicaid coverage as a result of the redetermination process, hospitals and health systems are seeing substantial increases in uncompensated care and facing new Medicare cuts that will exacerbate their financial challenges, according to a AHA blog post published Sept. 20.

The Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (H-ISAC) Sept. 19 alerted the health sector to an emerging threat that targets senior executives through phishing emails that contain malicious QR codes, also known as quishing.

AHA Sept. 20 urged leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to remove from the Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Expansion Act proposals that would eliminate facility fees for telehealth and evaluation and management services, require a separate identification number for each off-campus outpatient department of a provider, and prevent providers from negotiating reasonable agreements with commercial health insurance plans.

A number of legislative proposals being considered by Congress would impose billions of dollars in additional Medicare payment cuts for services provided by hospital outpatient departments and reduce patient access to vital health care services, AHA Executive Vice President Stacey Hughes said today during a panel discussion hosted by Politico. 

The Department of Health and Human Services Sept. 18 alerted the health care sector to a critical vulnerability in ManageEngine products that allows an attacker to perform remote code execution and which a North Korean state-sponsored actor is reportedly using to target health care entities in Europe and the United States.

Northwell Health Sept. 18 hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who recognized staff at the health system’s Staten Island University Hospital for their ongoing efforts to support his nation’s medical providers amid Ukraine’s war with Russia.

AHA’s chief nursing officer and chief physician executive encourage hospitals and health systems to ensure the questions asked on licensing, credentialing and other applications don’t perpetuate stigma or deter team members from seeking behavioral health services when needed.