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Beginning July 6, both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans will cover diagnostic COVID-19

Clinical laboratories and health care providers should stop using any antibody tests on the Food and Drug Administration’s “removed” test list, evaluate prior results from the test and whether to retest the patient using an FDA-authorized test, the agency said.

A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows emergency department visits dropped by 23% for heart attacks, 20% for strokes and 10% for hyperglycemic crises in first 10 weeks after the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. 

A study of the first 20,000 adults hospitalized with severe or life-threatening COVID-19 to receive convalescent plasma found the investigational therapy safe in this diverse group of patients, according to findings from the Food and Drug Administration’s Expanded Access Program for COVID-19 reported in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

House Democratic leaders released legislative text for the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), a more than $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild American infrastructure, including roads, bridges, transit, housing and health care. 

The Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve proposal to expand the Main Street Lending Program to nonprofit organizations, as advocated by AHA, has the potential to satisfy loan assistance needs for health care organizations ineligible for Paycheck Protection Program loans or for which PPP loan maximums are insufficient, the association said.

Among the many lessons we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is the critical importance of leadership.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory warning of an uptick over the last year in meningococcal disease in which isolates show the gene associated with penicillin resistance and mutations associated with ciprofloxacin resistance.

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded 310 grants totaling $107.2 million for programs to develop and retain clinicians in rural, underserved and disadvantaged communities.

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Community Care recently launched a national emergency care contact center for emergency care received in non-VA facilities to simplify care coordination, eligibility determination and payment authorization information.

AHA recommended the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General clarify its proposed rule incorporating new authorities for civil monetary penalties for information blocking by health information developers, exchanges and networks, and not enforce the final rule until after the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Department of Health and Human Services should develop a workforce target for the National Disaster Medical System to ensure it can effectively respond to the nation’s current and future needs, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its health care facility operations guidance to reflect the current COVID-19 pandemic environment.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health Wednesday held a hearing to discuss COVID-19’s disproportionate effect on racial and ethnic minorities.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is “committed to monitoring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic” on the financial institutions it supervises, and “will not hesitate to take additional action to provide clarity and guidance, as needed," FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams saidvin letter responding to the AHA.

The AHA expressed support for the Knowing the Efficiency and Efficacy of Permanent (KEEP) Telehealth Options Act of 2020, which would allow the government to study the impact of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic and its expanded use.

The AHA urged the Health and Human Services Secretary to extend the public health emergency beyond its current July 25, 2020 expiration date so “health care providers can continue to offer the most efficient and effective care possible during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.”

With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations spiking in a number of states, hospitals and health systems — and the women and men on the front lines — continue to battle the virus. At the same time, hospitals continue to confront the greatest financial crisis in their history, as our recent report estimates more than $200 billion in losses from COVID-19 from March through June.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a proposed rule revising requirements for value-based purchasing agreements between states and manufacturers for drugs covered by Medicaid.

Black COVID-19 patients were more likely to be hospitalized than white patients in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that looked at cases in metropolitan Atlanta.