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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today approved through 2026 an amended Medicaid demonstration for Arkansas that adds innovative approaches to help eligible enrollees address health-related social needs, such as housing and food insecurity. The amendment will cover care coordination and other supports for individuals with high-risk pregnancies, rural residents with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders, and young adults at risk for long-term poverty and poor health outcomes.

Now through Jan. 15, individuals and families can enroll in or change their health coverage options through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expects four out of five consumers to find plans for $10 or less per month after tax credits.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights yesterday released a video on recognized security practices under the HIPAA security rule and how covered entities may demonstrate implementation.

The departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury yesterday released guidance on the federal independent dispute resolution process for certified IDR entities and disputing parties under the No Surprises Act regulations, and calendar year 2023 IDR fees. For CY 2023, IDR administrative fees will be $50 for each disputing party and certified IDR entities may charge $200-$700 for single determinations and $268-$938 for batched determinations.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today issued its calendar year 2023 final rule for the home health prospective payment system, which would increase HH payments by a net 0.7%, or $125 million, in calendar year 2023 relative to CY 2022.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center highly recommends all health sector organizations immediately test and deploy a critical OpenSSL patch when it becomes available Nov. 1, because many of the most common operating systems and applications use the OpenSSL software library for secure communications.

The AHA’s Association for the Health Care Environment professional membership group has elected two members to three-year terms on its advisory board beginning Jan. 1: Tom Mattice, senior director of environmental services at Montefiore Nyack (N.Y.) Hospital; and Sade' Rolon, associate vice president of environmental services at ProMedica Health System in Toledo, Ohio.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Friday finalized a rule updating Medicare enrollment and eligibility rules to strengthen coverage and ease enrollment, as required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. AHA expressed support for the updates in an April letter to the agency.

On this episode, I talk with Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. Conroy also is the Chair-elect Designate of the AHA Board of Trustees.

In the latest podcast in AHA’s Advancing Health podcast series on leading initiatives to transform care and advance equity, leaders from Montage Health and Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System in California share how the health systems collaborated to reduce Type 2 diabetes in their communities, an initiative AHA recognized with a 2022 Dick Davidson NOVA Award.

A new AHA video features hospital and health system leaders from across the country sharing how severe financial pressures

The average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health coverage rose 1.1% in the first part of this year to $22,463, including employer and worker contributions, according to the latest annual survey of employer-sponsored health insurance by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The average annual premium for single coverage increased 2.2% to $7,911.

After Election Day, lawmakers will return to Washington to consider many important issues, including funding the government, the annual must-pass defense bill, hurricane aid, election reform and tax extenders.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday approved state plan amendments allowing Georgia and Pennsylvania to extend postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months after pregnancy for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program enrollees under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Join more than 2,800 care sites that are part of the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement, addressing the unique care needs of patients age 65 and older. The AHA is leading its fourth virtual action community this fall, providing free access to live webinars, resources and customized coaching. Past action community participants have reduced hospital readmissions, prevented patient falls and improved value and patient satisfaction.

Overall cancer death rates continued to decline between 2015 and 2019 for men, women and children and all major racial and ethnic groups, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. The overall death rate fell an average 2.3% per year in men and 1.9% per year in women, led by declining rates for lung cancer and melanoma.

Black patients who sought outpatient care for COVID-19 between January and July 2022 were 36% less likely than white patients to receive the antiviral pill Paxlovid, while Hispanic patients were 30% less likely than non-Hispanic patients to receive the treatment, according to a study released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on sites participating in the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network.

On Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. ET, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a webinar to review and answer questions about its new web form for submitting Notice of Offers to certified Independent Dispute Resolution entities under the No Surprises Act. The webinar also will review changes to the Notice of Initiation web form.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday updated its COVID-19 guidance pertaining to vaccination requirements for health care providers. The updated guidance for health care providers includes changes to CMS’ surveyor guidance, and possible associated enforcement action, for hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, long-term care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and other health care providers.

As an increasing number of rural hospitals have been forced to shut their doors for good, difficult choices face those that remain open. Get the read on the current landscape from Jeff Subler, president and CEO of Wayne HealthCare in Greenville, Ohio, which serves a rural and agricultural population of 50,000.