News

The Food and Drug Administration Friday released draft guidance on how drug developers can apply for the agency’s Competitive Generic Therapies designation.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today proposed Medicare cover chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration when they are prescribed by the treating oncologist and performed in a hospital meeting certain criteria.

Congress last night approved legislation providing discretionary funding for certain federal programs for fiscal year 2019, preventing a shutdown of those programs tonight when their current funding expires.

Hospitals and clinicians are seeing fewer flu patients this season than in other recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

Hospitals participating in the Inpatient Quality Reporting and/or Promoting Interoperability Programs must submit data for at least four electronic clinical quality measures from any quarter of calendar year 2018 through the QualityNet secure portal by Feb. 28 to receive a full payment update in fiscal year 2020.

In this ever-changing world, there are fewer certainties than ever before: the health care field, the political landscape, and even the climate are transforming as I write. But, one thing that doesn’t change, and you can count on: The AHA Annual Membership Meeting is one of the best places to learn about the new trends shaping health care, hear about our field’s opportunities to impact public policy from the key players who are shaping it, and talk with your peers from across the country about how we can build a stronger health system for our patients, hospitals and communities.

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., along with several other Democratic senators, yesterday introduced bills aimed at increasing transparency for prescription drug prices and reducing costs for Medicare Part D enrollees.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation today announced a new payment model for emergency ambulance services that aims to allow Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to receive the most appropriate level of care at the right time and place with the potential for lower out-of-pocket costs.

Dennis Pullin, president and CEO of Virtua Health in Marlton, N.J., will serve as 2019 chair of the AHA's Section for Metropolitan Hospitals.

The American Organization of Nurse Executives today announced its inaugural class of fellows.

The AHA and Federation of American Hospitals today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court decision that allows False Claims Act whistleblowers to accuse a hospital or other defendant of fraud and proceed to discovery without articulating specific facts demonstrating the circumstances or scope of the alleged fraud.

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee today held a hearing on legislation to roll back changes to the Affordable Care Act by the Trump administration.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has launched a project to share claims data with accountable care organizations in bulk format, Administrator Seema Verma yesterday told participants at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s annual conference.

The AHA yesterday urged Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., not to re-introduce legislation that would establish rehabilitation innovation centers as a new class of rehabilitation hospitals.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., today convened a hearing on “Managing Pain During the Opioid Crisis” to “better understand causes of pain, how we can improve care for patients with pain, and where we are on developing new medicines and ways to treat pain.”

Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Ranking Member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said they are committed to working on bipartisan reforms to lower drug prices.

Hospitals and health systems are dedicated to safeguarding the privacy of patients’ medical information and believe that the current HIPAA rules are generally effective without greatly impeding the necessary exchange of information, AHA said.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force today recommended that clinicians provide or refer pregnant and postpartum women who are at increased risk for perinatal depression to counseling interventions.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today proposed new rules to promote electronic health information exchange.

The AHA today expressed support for the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act, legislation that would add 15,000 Medicare-funded residency positions over five years to alleviate physician shortages that threaten patients' access to care.