News

Responding today to a Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee Request for Information on the drivers of health care workforce shortages and potential solutions, AHA said “long-building structural changes within the health care workforce, combined with the profound toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, have left hospitals and health systems facing a national staffing emergency.”     

The Food and Drug Administration Friday authorized for emergency use a molecular test to detect mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) at the point of care in lesion swab specimens from individuals whose health care provider suspects they have the virus. 

Deceptively branded as an effort to save the 340B program, a legislative campaign by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, National Association of Community Health Centers and other groups to remove many hospitals, eligible drugs and patients from the 340B program “would only save drug company profits by reducing their already modest financial contribution to the health care safety net,” the AHA and other national hospital groups said in a statement. 

The COVID-19 pandemic, opioid crisis and mpox outbreak. Hurricanes Ian and Fiona. Severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides in Kentucky. Wildfires and straight-line winds in New Mexico.

The latest annual survey of state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program directors by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Georgetown University Center for Children and Families looks at state approaches to renewing Medicaid and CHIP enrollments over the past year and once the COVID-19 public health emergency’s continuous enrollment requirement ends on March 31.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration yesterday awarded 15 states $1 million grants to plan and apply to participate in Medicaid’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic demonstration.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week released for comment initial guidance implementing a program for Medicare to negotiate prices with drug makers for certain high-cost, single-source drug and biological products beginning in 2026 under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra this week amended the February 2020 COVID-19 emergency use authorization declaration so that the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 diagnostics, personal protective equipment, other medical devices, and drug and biological products will remain in effect until there is no longer a “significant potential” for a COVID-19 public health emergency or the authorized devices or products have been approved.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will make whole health care providers impacted by lowered coinsurance on 27 Medicare Part B prescription drugs. The reduced coinsurance rates, which are required by the Inflation Reduction Act, take effect April 1 and will remain in effect through June 30.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today instructed certified independent dispute resolution entities to resume making payment determinations for disputes involving items or services furnished on or after Oct. 25, 2022.

Hospitals and health systems can play an important role in ensuring patients have trustworthy, accurate and scientifically sound information to help them make the best health care decisions for themselves and their loved ones.

Age-Friendly Health Systems, an initiative of the John A. Hartford Foundation and Institute for Healthcare Improvement in partnership with the AHA and Catholic Health Association of the United States, has recognized over 3,000 care locations as “age friendly” for reliably implementing four evidence-based practices to improve care for nearly 2 million older U.S. adults.

New AHA case studies on the importance of integrating physical and behavioral health feature three hospitals leading the way forward.

The International Hospital Federation’s Geneva Sustainability Centre seeks hospitals to preview and provide feedback on a digital platform it plans to launch this summer to help hospitals assess and track their environmental sustainability efforts, access training and replicate best practices.

The U.S. maternal mortality rate increased to 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021 from 23.8 in 2020, according to data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tax-exempt hospitals provided $9 of benefit for every $1 of tax exemption in 2019, the most recent year for which comprehensive data is available, writes AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack.

The FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center today provided actionable intelligence and encouraged organizations to implement recommendations to protect their networks from LockBit 3.0 ransomware, which is more evasive than previous versions.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today held a hearing examining cybersecurity risks to the health care sector. Witnesses included Scott Dresen, chief information security officer for Corewell Health, a large integrated health system in Michigan.

Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., today introduced AHA-supported legislation that would reauthorize the mandatory portion of the National Health Service Corps through fiscal year 2026 and double funding for its scholarships and loan repayment for health care workers who serve in federally designated shortage areas.

In a new blog post from the AHA's Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, Janice E. Nevin, M.D., president and CEO of ChristianaCare and a member of the AHA Board of Trustees, discusses Delaware hospitals’ commitment to take the Health Equity Transformation Assessment and why she believes health equity is vital.