Blog

Blogs from AHA leaders and members on the latest health care issues.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week issued its final rule carrying out key provisions of the landmark Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), which called for a new Medicare payment system for physicians.
More evidence this week of how unchecked drug price increases are forcing hospitals to make tough choices and are a serious economic threat to the patients and communities we serve. An AHA/Federation of American Hospitals-commissioned report by the University of Chicago’s NORC showed inpatient…
With the clock ticking on the proposed Jan. 1, 2017 start date for the Quality Payment Program created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), the field breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it…
A bipartisan majority of lawmakers have delivered a strong message to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: protect patients’ access to care and provide fair payment and more predictability for hospitals in regulations implementing “site-neutral” payment for new off-campus provider-…
Integrating and improving behavioral health continues to be at the top of mind for hospitals and health systems, but having the right providers in place for patients is a struggle that many health care leaders may face.
Hospitals and health systems across the country are addressing the behavioral health needs of their patients and communities. While historically, behavioral health may not have been top of mind, hospitals understand that behavioral and physical health are inseparable. Through behavioral health…
The National Alliance on Mental Illness first began in 1979 as a small group of families who gathered together to discuss mental health. Since then, the association has become a leading voice in advocating for and spreading awareness of mental illness. In 1990, Congress established the first full…
As the new president and CEO of AHA’s Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET), I am thrilled that HRET has been selected as one of 16 national, regional or state hospital associations, Quality Improvement Organizations and health system organizations to continue efforts in reducing…
Tucked away in legislation passed to keep the federal government running is critical funding for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA. The AHA supported several measures in CARA, including: 
In 1990, the U.S. Congress established the first full week of October as Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) in recognition of efforts by the National Alliance on Mental Illness to raise awareness about mental illness.  The goal of this year’s MIAW is to reduce stigma around mental illness and…