News

In a statement submitted to the Senate Finance Committee for a hearing on lowering drug prices in Medicare, AHA encouraged Congress to implement policies that would increase generic alternatives and discourage anti-competitive tactics while maintaining incentives to develop innovative new therapies.

Telehealth was critical for providing services to Medicare beneficiaries during the first year of the pandemic, concludes a new report by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.

The COVID-19 Uninsured Program will stop accepting claims for testing and treatment on March 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET and claims for vaccination on April 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET due to lack of sufficient funds, the Health Resources and Services Administration announced.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital is now implementing what we believe is a truly neighborhood-driven and co-designed community investment initiative in Columbus, Ohio.

With perinatal mood and anxiety disorders the single largest complication of pregnancy and childbirth, a new AHA infographic highlights five key ways to prioritize maternal mental health based on hospitals with successful programs.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first generic version of Symbicort, a metered-dose inhaler for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released a toolkit to help health care providers and others prepare for the July 16 launch of 988, the new phone number for anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts or a mental health or substance use crisis to speak, text or chat with a trained crisis counselor.

Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize a second booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine for adults age 65 and older who received an initial booster of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine, based on data from Israel showing the additional booster reduced infections and severe illness when the omicron variant was circulating.

The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recommended all organizations take action to prevent Russian state-sponsored actors from exploiting vulnerabilities in multifactor authentication (MFA) protocols and Windows print spooler. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released states’ final disproportionate share hospital allotments for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, and their preliminary DSH allotments for FY 2020 and 2021.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission released its March report to Congress, which includes recent recommendations for hospital and other Medicare payment systems in fiscal year 2023 and a description of its prototype value-based purchasing program for post-acute care providers. 

Weekly COVID-19-associated hospitalization rates among U.S. infants and children under age 5 have declined since peaking Jan. 8, but peak rates during omicron predominance were about five times those during delta predominance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced $25.6 million in grants to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and prevent the misuse of prescription drugs.

Without additional funding from Congress, the U.S. cannot secure sufficient COVID-19 vaccine boosters and variant-specific vaccines for all Americans; reimburse providers to test, treat and vaccinate the uninsured; provide monoclonal antibody therapies to states; or sustain testing capacity, among other actions, according to a White House announcement. 

The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee voted 20-2 to advance, as amended, the PREVENT Pandemics Act (S. 3799), bipartisan legislation to strengthen the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a learning collaborative and webinar series to help state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program agencies improve maternal and infant health by reducing cesarean deliveries for low-risk pregnancies.

In a civil class action lawsuit alleging Sutter Health and certain affiliates violated federal antitrust law in their arrangements with health plans, a federal jury unanimously ruled in favor of the Sacramento, Calif.-based integrated health care network.  

The Food and Drug Administration recently authorized extending from six to nine months the shelf life for refrigerated Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius (about 36-46 degrees Fahrenheit), based on data submitted by the company. 

Health care providers who received Provider Relief Fund payments exceeding $10,000 total between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, must report to the Health Resources and Services Administration by March 31 on how they used those funds or face enforcement actions such as repayment or exclusion from receiving or retaining future PRF payments.

One week in early March every year is designated as Patient Safety Awareness Week, a national recognition to encourage everyone to learn more about health care safety.