UnitedHealthcare has delayed from April 1, 2021, until Jan. 1, 2022, its requirement that certain in-network laboratories report their unique laboratory-specific codes along with other information for the overwhelming majority of freestanding and outpatient laboratory testing services.
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) News
Below are links to AHA Today stories on novel coronavirus (COVID-19). For all coronavirus resources and news updates, visit our COVID-19 page.
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The Department of Health and Human Services recently distributed 27,000 portable COVID-19 molecular test kits, which Alaska, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Texas can use at the point of care to verify antigen test results within 20 minutes.
At Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, we were involved very early in this pandemic. We are still caring for the majority of patients with the coronavirus in our community, and we learn more every day. Looking back on many months of dealing with COVID-19, here are some lessons I learned, which may resonate with you too.
In this AHA blog, AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels discusses the resources hospitals and health systems need and what additional relief Congress should deliver during the COVID-19 public health emergency and beyond.
Join AHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday at 2 p.m. ET for a Project Firstline conversation on caring safely for COVID-19 patients.
The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit, the first rapid test to detect the COVID-19 virus that one can administer completely at home when prescribed by a health care provider to individuals age 14 or older.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued clarifications sought by the AHA on two problematic reporting requirements for the Provider Relief Fund.
In this AHA blog, AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels discusses the resources hospitals and health systems need and what additional relief Congress should deliver during the COVID-19 public health emergency and beyond.
The Department of Health and Human Services has released a PPE Preservation Planning Toolkit to help organizations implement strategies to preserve personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Food and Drug Administration issued final guidance for health care providers and researchers using investigational COVID-19 convalescent plasma, defined as convalescent plasma that does not meet all conditions of the agency’s emergency use authorization or which is used under an investigational new drug application during the public health emergency.
The AHA, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association urged the Trump administration to share all critical information related to COVID-19 with the Biden transition team.
Moderna Inc. announced that its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate against COVID-19 is 94.5% effective, according to early data.
As of Nov. 6, about 60% of the nation’s retail pharmacies have agreed to participate in a federal program to administer COVID-19 vaccines at no cost to patients once authorized or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration, the departments of Health and Human Services and Defense announced.
“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good” is a quote credited to the French writer and thinker Voltaire. Although he died in 1778, that phrase is very appropriate today when discussing the Affordable Care Act.
To continue amplifying the important message of protecting against both the flu and COVID-19, AHA’s Wear A Mask and United Against the Flu campaigns released new resources, including new sample social media messages and graphics that hospitals and health systems can use to reiterate the importance of getting a flu shot, wearing a mask and practicing good hygiene.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response has released guidance on considerations for health care providers exploring high-flow nasal cannula therapy, a less-invasive oxygen therapy than mechanical ventilation that has shown clinically useful in treating severe and critical COVID-19 patients.
The Department of Health and Human Services will host an additional webinar Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. ET on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Oct. 6 guidance on COVID-19 data reporting requirements for hospitals that participate in Medicare.
The American Medical Association announced Current Procedural Terminology codes for reporting on medical claims two COVID-19 vaccines and their administration to patients by dose.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Medicare coverage for monoclonal antibody therapies, with no beneficiary cost-sharing for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. CMS said the coverage will apply to bamlanivimab, the Lilly therapeutic that earned an emergency use authorization earlier this week.
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines the advantages, limitations and status of certain COVID-19 diagnostic tests, including reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction tests, point-of-care tests, and next generation sequencing tests.