News

A federal judge in Texas dismissed the state’s challenge of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ interim final rule requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most health care settings that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including hospitals and health systems.

Americans can now order online up to four free at-home tests for COVID-19, which the U.S. Postal Service will start shipping in late January.

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency Sunday advised U.S. critical infrastructure organizations to review a Microsoft blog on malware identified in Ukraine and take action to strengthen their networks against potential cyber threats.

An analysis of data from 41 health care systems participating in the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network found lower use of monoclonal antibody therapies for patients who are Black, Asian or other races compared with white and non-Hispanic patients between November 2020 and August 2021.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology today released its first final Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, a set of non-binding principles and governance approach for health information exchange required by the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016.

The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department’s Antitrust Division will accept comments through March 21 on how to modernize enforcement of the antitrust laws regarding mergers. 

Telehealth Access for America is running digital ads this week in Politico asking Congress to protect access to telehealth services.

Flu vaccination protects children against serious flu illness, even when they are infected with a virus that has mutated from the one in the vaccine, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In an op-ed published at MedPage Today, 2021 AHA Board Chair Rod Hochman, M.D., urges action to address the nation’s growing shortage of health care workers, from enacting the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act to lifting the cap on Medicare-funded physician residencies.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a bulletin reminding debt collectors and credit bureaus of their legal obligations in light of the No Surprises Act, which protects consumers from certain unexpected medical bills. 

As urged by the AHA, the Department of Health and Human Services today renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration for another 90 days effective Jan. 16. The extension will help hospitals and health systems combat COVID-19 in their communities. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released updated interpretive guidance on its Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule for states affected by yesterday’s Supreme Court’s decision  on the rule.

Record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases. Unprecedented workforce shortages. Persistent supply chain challenges. 

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommended that Congress provide a current law update for the hospital inpatient and outpatient prospective payment systems in fiscal year 2023, currently estimated at 2.5% for inpatient and 2.0% for outpatient.

The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services vaccine mandate to go into effect nationwide while blocking the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s vaccine requirements from taking effect. The Court ruled 5-4 in allowing the CMS vaccine mandate to go into effect and 6-3 in blocking the OSHA mandates. 

In this first episode of a two-part series hosted by AHA’s Living Learning Network, leaders from the AHA and the Center to Advance Palliative Care discuss palliative care strategies, challenges and lessons learned throughout the pandemic.

Leaders from the AHA and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, hospital leaders, clinicians and experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jan. 26 will hold a webinar on how health care professionals can work with their patients and communities to build trust in the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant people.

A new AHA video is tackling prominent myths about COVID-19 and its vaccines, providing the public with the facts they need to make sound health decisions for themselves and their families.

In addition to the seven new 2022 ICD-10 procedure codes announced in November, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on April 1 will implement two new ICD-10 procedure codes for reporting COVID-19 therapeutics

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.