Blog

Blogs from AHA leaders and members on the latest health care issues.

The following post is written by Herb B. Kuhn, President and CEO of the Missouri Hospital Association and Jane Drummond, General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs of the Missouri Hospital Association.This week, Missouri’s Department of Insurance announced it would block the merged Aetna…
A blog post in Health Affairs poses the question: Will Hospitals Help or Hinder a Better Report Card? The answer is that hospitals and health systems have led the way in developing transparent reporting of quality and patient safety data.
Hospitals and health systems are going above and beyond to address and treat the myriad behavioral health concerns in their communities.  To highlight and honor the dedicated women and men who care for and keep our communities health during Mental Health Month, the AHA sat down with members of the…
This week, the long-anticipated Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act (H.R.5273) was introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), along with Health Subcommittee leaders Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Jim McDermott (D-WA). Markup could be as early as next week. We are…
Hospitals across the country are addressing their communities’ behavioral health needs, often by working with local organizations to coordinate care beyond the walls of a hospital. Examples of these innovative partnerships can be found in AHA’s Community Connections case studies, among AHA award…
A group financed by the pharmaceutical industry is hosting a meeting today on the 340B Drug Pricing Program with the goal of “Preserving the True Safety Net.” But what the meeting really will be about is the pharmaceutical industry – with their skyrocketing prescription drug prices and huge profits…
Hospitals have made good faith efforts to comply with the multitude of requirements under the federal meaningful use program to adopt Electronic Health Records (EHRs). However, under the current approach, failure to meet any one of the requirements, even by a small amount, results in a large…
Hospitals, and the women and men who work in them, witness the toll of opioid abuse on patients and the health of their communities every day. In 2014 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 28,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses and at least half involved a…
A recent article in the New York Times highlights the yet-to-be-fulfilled promises made by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International to the U.S. Congress. Valeant had said it would give hospitals discounts of as much as 30 percent on two of its expensive heart drugs. But those discounts never…
Congratulations to all of my nursing colleagues as we celebrate National Nurses Week. It is important that we take time to pause to recognize the valuable contributions that nurses make each and every day. The focus of this year’s Nurses Week is Culture of Safety: It Starts With You.…