News

The widespread belief that we have completely turned the corner in our fight against COVID-19 does not apply equally to all parts of the country. In many states and communities, the rate of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are moving in the wrong direction.  

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Sutter Health in Northern California used the range of its system to meet the needs of patients, staff and clinicians, from testing solutions to vaccine rollout.

State attorneys general announced a $26 billion proposed settlement with Johnson & Johnson and distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and Amerisource Bergen over the companies’ alleged role in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic.

U.S. life expectancy fell by an average of 1.5 years in 2020 to 77.3 years, primarily due to COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reminded states’ Medicaid agencies that the Department of Homeland Security’s public charge final rule is no longer in effect, and that they “may only share information about a Medicaid applicant or beneficiary when sharing that information is directly related to administration of the Medicaid state plan.”

Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., who cosponsored legislation that repealed the McCarran-Ferguson antitrust exemption for commercial health insurers, asked the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice to update them by Aug. 4 on what their agencies have done to enforce the law.

The AHA Board of Trustees adopted a policy statement that supports hospitals and health systems that adopt mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies, “with local factors and circumstances shaping whether and how these policies are implemented.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee today advanced two AHA-supported bills to enhance maternal health care quality and outcomes, including in rural areas.

Reps. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., Tom Cole, R-Okla., G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., today launched the bipartisan Congressional Social Determinants of Health Caucus, which will highlight opportunities to coordinate federal investments in health and social drivers of health such as food, housing and transportation.

Reps. Peter Welch, D-Vt., Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., Darin LaHood, R-Ill., and Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, yesterday reintroduced the Value in Health Care Act, AHA-supported legislation to strengthen Medicare’s value-based payment models and accountable care organizations.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today advised clinicians in the Medicare Quality Payment Program who earned but did not receive an alternative payment model incentive payment in calendar year 2021 based on CY 2019 performance to update their billing information by Nov. 1 so it can disburse their payment.

Health care delivery organizations can apply through July 31 for the 2022 Foster G. McGaw Prize, sponsored by AHA and Baxter International Foundation to recognize innovative collaborations that improve the health and well-being of communities.

A federal grand jury has charged four individuals from a China-based group known as APT40 with targeting computer systems in the United States and abroad between 2011 and 2018 to steal trade secrets and confidential business information for the People’s Republic of China, including proprietary genetic-sequencing technology and data, and infectious-disease research related to Ebola, MERS, HIV/AIDS, Marburg and tularemia, the Department of Justice announced.

The Drug Enforcement Administration published a direct final rule to clarify that either the purchaser or the supplier may enter a supplier’s DEA registration number on the new single-sheet form that DEA registrants use to order schedule I and II controlled substances. DEA will accept comments on the rule through Aug. 19.

The AHA, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association released a public service announcement urging the American public to “ask questions, follow the science and get vaccinated.”

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services late today issued a proposed rule that would increase Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system rates by a net 2.3% in calendar year 2022 compared to 2021.

The Department of Health and Human Services has renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration for another 90 days effective July 20.

AHA member organizations are undertaking a variety of efforts to address opioid issues in their communities. Hear examples of some of those efforts from Alicia Mikolaycik Gonzalez, M.D., regional director at the Oakland, Calif.-based CA Bridge Program.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Saturday recommended clinicians consider monkeypox in patients with symptoms who traveled from Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Nigeria on July 8 to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on July 9; from Atlanta to Dallas Love Field Airport on July 9; or were in those airports on July 8-9.

The Department of Health and Human Services should provide projected time frames for its planned spending of COVID-19 relief funds, including the Provider Relief Fund, to ensure accountability for these funds, the Government Accountability Office said in a report.