News

House leaders today unveiled the Protecting Pre-existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019 – a legislative package designed to build on the Affordable Care Act to expand health insurance coverage for individuals and protect patients with pre-existing conditions.

In a reversal of its prior position, the Department of Justice yesterday told the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that it should affirm a district court decision that struck down the entire Affordable Care Act.

Commenting yesterday on the proposed rule for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Community Care Program, AHA said the rule “will provide continuity for veterans to access care outside of VA’s medical network and decrease confusion about eligibility criteria and covered services.”

The House of Representatives yesterday passed by voice vote a bill (H.R. 1839) that contains a number of Medicaid provisions, including the ACE Kids Act.

AHA today urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to address in forthcoming rules for inpatient rehabilitation facilities and other post-acute care providers several concerns related to the agency’s revised case-mix grouping system for IRFs.

About 11.4 million people actively or automatically enrolled in a health plan through HealthCare.gov or a state-based exchange during open enrollment for 2019.

The AHA will present its 2019 Board of Trustees Awards to Jeanette Clough, president and CEO of Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Mass., and Bruce Bailey, president and CEO of Tidelands Health in Georgetown, S.C.

The AHA and the National Quality Forum today released a guide to help hospitals and health systems working to deliver innovative, high-quality telebehavioral health services.

Acute-care hospitals reduced Clostridium difficile infections by 13 percent and central line-associated bloodstream infections by 9 percent in 2017.

In partnership with the AHA and other national health care leaders, the National Quality Forum today launched a task force to identify opportunities to drive and optimize high-value, person-centered care for every patient by 2030.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has exceeded 1,000 confirmed or probable cases.

Enrollment in private health insurance plans remained concentrated among a small number of issuers in 2015 and 2016

I have hope that the rapidly evolving health care landscape will empower us to deliver better care than ever before and to build a nation of healthier individuals and communities.

The USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy today convened a panel of policymakers and stakeholders, including the AHA, to discuss its newly released analysis detailing policy approaches to eliminate surprise out-of-network billing and propose solutions.

In a letter today to Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., AHA responds to a recent request from the senator for input regarding cybersecurity in the health care sector.

Nearly 70 organizations, including the AHA, today urged congressional leaders to advance the House-passed Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness & Advancing Innovation Act (H.R. 269), legislation that would reauthorize hospital and other federal emergency preparedness programs.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services next month will begin accepting applications to participate in its second cohort of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced Model starting in January 2020.

The Department of Health and Human Services this week awarded $487 million in fiscal year 2019 grants to help states and territories increase access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and reduce opioid overdose deaths.

The Health Resources and Services Administration yesterday awarded $100 million in grants to improve infant mortality rates and maternal health outcomes in vulnerable communities.

Hospitals and health systems are building the future patients want and need to lead their healthiest lives.