News

Commenting on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ hospital outpatient prospective payment system and ambulatory surgical center payment system proposed rule for calendar year 2022, AHA continued to urge the agency to restore full OPPS payment for hospital outpatient clinic visits to grandfathered off-campus provider-based departments.

Ahead of National Physician Suicide Awareness Day, on Sept. 17, read how health care workers, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, faced elevated rates of burnout, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, in this blog by J. Corey Feist, co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation.

In a new blog, Kurt Hoppe, M.D., faculty member of the Mayo Clinic and member of the AHA’s Post-acute Steering Committee, explains the importance of post-acute care providers in the nation’s COVID-19 response and recovery, as well as the newest updates to the post-acute care payment model plan – which would combine payments for the four post-acute care settings – and of which AHA has significant concerns. 

The AHA has received a $1 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue for one year its efforts to encourage COVID-19 vaccine confidence in the hospital field, clinicians and the public.

A pair of peer-reviewed studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine are affirming the safety and effectiveness of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, first at six months following a completed, two-dose regimen, and then with boosters.

The Food and Drug Administration released updated enforcement policy related to face masks, barrier face coverings, face shields, surgical masks and respirators for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The AHA released a new issue of the COVID-19 Snapshot, underscoring the persisting challenges facing hospitals and health systems during the ongoing public health emergency.

The AHA Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. ET is hosting a webinar with HCA Healthcare leaders Edmund Jackson, M.D., and Jeffrey Guy, M.D., who will share oxygen conservation strategies as COVID-19 cases surge nationwide, leading to limitation in supplies.

The House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees approved their legislative recommendations for the Build Back Better Act, which will be considered under budget reconciliation.

The AHA is accepting applications through Oct. 15 for its 2022 Quest for Quality Prize.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded $123 million in grants to help health care providers and communities prevent and treat opioid and other substance use disorders and overdoses. 

Postpartum hemorrhages occur in 1%-5% of women who have a baby.

Five hospital-led programs received the 2021 AHA Dick Davidson NOVA Award for their collaborative efforts to improve community health.

bout 2.1 million people selected a 2021 health plan through the federally facilitated marketplace between Feb. 15 and Aug. 15 during the special enrollment period created in response to the COVID-19 emergency, with an additional 738,000 enrolling through the 15 state-based marketplaces, the Department of Health and Human Services reported.

The National Institutes of Health awarded about $470 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to New York University Langone Health for a project to study the long-term effects of COVID-19.

The Northwell Health Nurse Choir will compete in the America’s Got Talent finals tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Viewers can vote for them to bring home the win when the season concludes Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 8 pm ET. 

The AHA has announced the hospital-community partnership teams participating in the 2021 Hospital Community Collaborative.

James Elrod, president and CEO of Willis-Knighton Health System in Shreveport, La., and the longest-tenured hospital administrator in the United States, plans to retire Sept. 30 after 56 years, the health system announced .

The Nevada Hospital Association named as its new president and CEO Pat Kelly, who previously served as chief financial officer and vice president of shared services for the West Virginia Hospital Association.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded the 21 state-based health insurance marketplaces between $500,000 and $1.1 million each to update their systems, programs or technology to ease enrollment and comply with federal requirements, including the American Rescue Plan Act’s increased premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions for plan years 2021 and 2022.