News

Cyber criminals and nation-state actors believed to be affiliated with the Chinese government continue to exploit recently announced vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange on-premises products, posing a serious risk to federal agencies and private organizations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a joint advisory.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has selected 184 ambulance providers and suppliers in 36 states to participate in the Services Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) Model, which began Jan. 1.

Reps. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., and Terri Sewell, D-Ala., introduced the Rural Hospital Support Act, AHA-supported legislation that would make permanent the Medicare-Dependent Hospital program and enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment for small rural prospective payment system hospitals. 

A Sunday, March 14 segment on 60 Minutes+ (available on streaming service Paramount+ rather than CBS) will underscore the struggles health care workers are facing amidst the COVID-19 public health emergency.

President Biden directed states, tribes and territories to make all adults eligible for COVID-19 vaccination by May 1. 

Reps. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., Richard Neal, D-Mass., Frank Pallone, D-N.J. and David Scott, D-Ga., introduced a bill that, among other health care provisions, would eliminate the 2% across-the-board cut to all Medicare payments, known as sequestration, until the end of 2021.

Patients should expect that any drugs or medications they require are safe, administered effectively and available when needed. But, some commercial health insurance companies are changing the rules about how drugs are handled and administered, with serious consequences for patient care.

The Biden administration has abandoned the prior administration’s defense of the public charge rule, dismissing appeals to the Supreme Court and circuit courts that sought to overturn district court decisions enjoining enforcement of the rule. 

The challenges and uncertainty during the pandemic have reinforced the importance of strong leadership and the value of mentorship, writes Lindsey Dunn Burgstahler, vice president, programming and intelligence, AHA Center for Health Innovation.

The House Education & Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on science-based strategies to protect workers from COVID-19.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued updated visitation guidance for nursing homes, noting that more than 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to nursing home residents and staff.

President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which includes a number of provisions that affect hospitals and health systems.

The AHA, American Health Care Association, National Association for Home Care & Hospice, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and Association for Clinical Oncology urged congressional leaders to extend the moratorium on the 2% cut to all Medicare payments under budget sequestration beyond March 31.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed many of the things that shape our lives: our relationships, our work, our interactions with technology and one another. And although it has undoubtedly changed leaders, it hasn’t changed what we know about leadership.

A California state judge granted preliminary approval to a settlement agreement in antitrust litigation alleging Sutter Health used anticompetitive practices in its contracts with a union’s health plans.

Trust for America’s Health released its latest annual report assessing states on 10 public health readiness indicators ranging from whether they have a nurse licensing compact so jurisdictions can borrow medical personnel and a plan to surge public health laboratory testing to the share of hospitals participating in health care coalitions and people receiving a seasonal flu vaccine.

In this AHA Physician Alliance podcast, Dawn Sears, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Temple, Texas, shares how she applied skills learned from the Women’s Wellness through Equity and Leadership Project to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

AHA urged the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights to take a holistic approach as it deliberates changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

The AHA released AHA Hospitals in Action: Supporting Care Teams, compiling hospitals’ and health systems’ stories on ways they are supporting health care workers’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the use of “lavender carts,” time-out rooms and easily accessible mental health programs.

President Biden, citing the need for maximum flexibility in the nation’s vaccination program, announced a deal for the U.S. government to purchase an additional 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine.