News

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the bipartisan Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, this month will award more than $130 million in 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline grants to address the nation’s ongoing mental health and substance use crises.

As hospital teams in the South respond to tornados as well as COVID-19, this week’s blog highlights three priority areas for health care leaders preparing for future public health emergencies and disasters, and a new AHA resource that can help.

This second in a four-part series on hospital and community partnerships to support family caregivers features Community Memorial Health System in Ventura, Calif., on the role of the family caregiver and how hospitals and health systems can help.

Ascension, a nonprofit health system that includes 139 hospitals in 19 states, yesterday published a detailed response to a New York Times article that examined staffing at the health system. 

A COVID-19 bivalent vaccine booster provides additional protection against COVID-19–associated emergency department/urgent care encounters and hospitalizations compared with previous vaccination with two or more monovalent vaccine doses, according to studies in adults and older adults released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Department of Health and Human Services yesterday proposed a standard format for attachments to support electronic health care claims and prior authorization transactions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

President Biden today signed a continuing resolution extending current federal funding levels for health care and other programs through Dec. 23.

Despite unprecedented challenges this year, hospitals and health systems can be proud of the job they do each and every day to care for our families, our friends and our neighbors.

Tom Jenike, M.D., chief well-being officer and senior vice president at Novant Health, shares three keys to building a culture that supports resilience and well-being in your health care workforce.

AHA is shining a light on the real issue of holiday-season stress to aid health care workers who bear heavy burdens on the frontlines of patient care.

AHA today released a holiday-themed toolkit with sample social media content and graphics to promote COVID-19 vaccination for parents, children and at-risk communities.

The Department of Health and Human Services today recommended governors take certain actions to prepare for a potential further increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations this winter, and has pre-positioned N-95 masks, gloves, gowns and ventilators at strategic locations should states need them.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday released a proposed rule that would increase oversight of Medicare Advantage plans and better align them with traditional Medicare, address access gaps in behavioral health services and further streamline prior authorization processes, supplementing a separate proposal last week.

In November, the American Hospital Association hosted a panel session discussing the “next wave of emergency preparedness,” at Becker’s 10th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable in Chicago. This session centered on three priority areas that health care leaders must address to prepare, respond and recover from future public health emergencies: strengthening cross-sector partnerships, building workforce capacity and resilience, and fostering a culture of preparedness.

In the latest blog post from AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, Joy Lewis, AHA’s senior vice president for health equity strategies, reflects on IFDHE’s bold initiatives this year and previews 2023’s forthcoming projects.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention is working with NORC at the University of Chicago, AHA and others to identify and evaluate health systems implementing anti-racism practices with the potential to reduce health disparities and improve outcomes related to heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular disease conditions.

As pediatric and adult hospitalization rates for flu and COVID-19 increase, AHA’s United Against the Flu campaign released a new social media toolkit to help hospitals and health systems encourage their communities to get vaccinated, including getting the updated COVID-19 booster. 

U.S. spending on health care grew just 2.7% in 2021 as federal expenditures for health care declined after spiking in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported today in Health Affairs.

The Biden Administration has named 17 members to the Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

A bipartisan group of 113 House members yesterday urged President Biden and congressional leaders to prevent additional impending Medicare cuts from going into effect, including the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go sequester.