News

The AHA’s American Society for Health Care Engineering today announced a certification program to help workers in facility management and construction understand the complexities of the health care physical environment, and hospitals reduce risks associated with construction.

A coalition of 29 health care and public health organizations, including the AHA, today urged Congress to pass the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness & Advancing Innovation Act (S. 2852/H.R. 6378) before Congress adjourns for 2018.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights yesterday issued recommendations and resources to help first responders provide language assistance to people with limited English proficiency and disabilities during disaster response and recovery.

Hospitals participating in the Medicare Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model are more likely to implement programs to improve post-discharge care and link surgeon compensation to cost and quality.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week approved a Section 1115 Medicaid waiver that will transition New Hampshire’s Medicaid expansion premium assistance program to Medicaid managed care.

The AHA, jointly filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services for finalizing a policy to phase-in a reduction in payments for hospital outpatient clinic visit services furnished in off-campus provider-based departments that are grandfathered under Section 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

The AHA today hosted the second day of its executive forum during which hospital and health system leaders shared strategies for innovating to enhance value and address new entrants to the health care field.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar yesterday declared a public health emergency in Alaska due to Friday’s earthquake, and waived certain requirements to give greater flexibility to meet emergency health needs.

About 15 percent of physicians in 2016 worked in practices that used telemedicine to interact with patients, while 11 percent worked in practices that used it to interact with health care professionals.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has rescheduled to Dec. 18 its webinar on 2019 and 2020 changes to the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program.

AHA-sponsored radio ads running in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Virginia encourage uninsured listeners to sign up for health coverage through the exchanges during open enrollment, which ends Dec. 15.

The departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and Labor today released a report to the president identifying actions that states or the federal government could take to promote choice and competition in the health care market, as requested by the president in an executive order last October

The AHA today in Chicago hosted the latest in a series of regional forums at which hospital and health system leaders shared strategies for innovating to enhance value and address new entrants to the health care field.

All Alaska hospitals remained opened during Friday’s earthquake and damage was minimal, according to the Alaska State Hospital & Nursing Home Association.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today posted the final incentive payment adjustment factors for the fiscal year 2019 Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, which are being used to adjust base operating Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Group payments to eligible hospitals for discharges this year.

Inpatient and outpatient prospective payment system hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities and PPS-exempt cancer hospitals can preview their data for the February update to Hospital Compare through Dec. 30 at the QualityNet Secure Portal.

Rural hospitals and other eligible providers can apply through March 4 for a portion of $21 million in Health Resources and Services Administration grants to develop new rural residency programs or training tracks in family medicine, internal medicine and psychiatry to expand the physician workforce in rural areas

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated its tool to help clinicians determine if they must participate in the 2018 Merit-based Incentive Payment System, one of two payment pathways for clinicians under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015.

Three years ago, the AHA launched the #123forEquity pledge campaign to accelerate progress toward improving health equity, asking hospitals and health systems to take action in three areas: increasing the collection and use of race, ethnicity, language preference and other socio-demographic data; increasing cultural competency training; and increasing diversity in leadership and governance. A fourth area – improving and strengthening community partnerships – was added last year. 

The Food and Drug Administration today issued draft guidance describing the premarket studies that manufacturers should conduct for blood glucose monitoring systems intended for use in professional health care settings.