News

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee today concluded a two-day hearing on more than 30 bills to address the opioid crisis through Medicare and Medicaid coverage and payment policies, which follows a similar hearing last month on 25 other bills.

The AHA today urged the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to incorporate into its bipartisan legislation to address the opioid crisis the Alternatives to Opioids in the Emergency Department Act (S. 2516).

Reforming the Medicare conditions of participation and modernizing the Stark Law are key to regulatory relief and the transition to value, Advocate Aurora Health Chief Medical Officer Lee Sacks, M.D., told the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee yesterday.

Premier Pharmacy Labs has voluntarily recalled several lots of injectable drug products, primarily opioid pain relievers, due to possible microbial contamination.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services April 18 will host a webinar on the hybrid hospital-wide 30-day readmission measure that hospitals may voluntarily report in calendar year 2018 for the hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting program.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in partnership with the National Latino Behavioral Health Association will host a free, four-part webcast to examine best practices for behavioral health treatment and recovery in Latino communities.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today held a hearing on a discussion draft of bipartisan legislation to address the opioid crisis, which the committee will mark up on April 24.

House Ways and Means Committee leaders today released a white paper summarizing stakeholder recommendations for Medicare-related legislation to address the opioid crisis, which the committee plans to use to develop and advance bipartisan policies.

President Trump yesterday issued an executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies to review their public assistance programs to determine whether enforcement of a work requirement would be consistent with federal law and certain “principles of economic mobility.”

A new report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of Minority Health looks at racial, ethnic and gender differences on 27 clinical quality and eight patient experience measures for beneficiaries with Medicare Advantage health and drug plans in 2015-2016.

The California Hospital Association strongly urged the state legislature yesterday to reject a bill that would cut payments to hospitals, doctors and other providers through a unilateral rate-setting government commission.

As the House Energy and Commerce Committee prepares to craft comprehensive legislation to address the nation’s opioid epidemic, AHA today urged the committee to report legislation to align 42 CFR Part 2 with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

More than 50 organizations, including hospitals, are participating in an exercise today through Thursday to test the nation’s ability to move patients with highly infectious diseases to regional treatment facilities, the Department of Health and Human Services announced today.

Qualified opioid treatment programs, practitioners and health centers can apply through June 4 for up to $200,000 a year for five years to expand access to Food and Drug Administration-approved opioid overdose treatments, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced yesterday.

The American Organization of Nurse Executives will recognize several members with 2018 awards during its annual meeting this week in Indianapolis.

Kaiser Permanente is investing $2 million in research to prevent gun injuries and death, the Oakland, CA-based integrated health system announced yesterday.

Hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations can sign up to host an intern for this year’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity’s Summer Enrichment Program, which begins June 4 and runs through August.

The Department of Health and Human Services today issued final rules for the health insurance marketplaces for plan year 2019, as well as the 2019 Letter for issuers selling on the federally-facilitated exchanges.

The AHA today submitted a statement to the House Homeland Security Committee for a field hearing on emergency preparedness and lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthcare Cybersecurity Integration and Communications Center recently released an update on ongoing cyberattacks on health care and government organizations using a form of ransomware known as SamSam.