Blog

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

A powerful example of hospital collaboration for better patient care is what we were able to accomplish through the Hospital Engagement Network, or HEN, part of the federal Partnership for Patients initiative.
It was great to see Rich Umbdenstock, the AHA’s president emeritus, this week at the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care’s summit on the future of advanced illness care. Rich recently joined the board of C-TAC, a diverse alliance of patient, provider, private sector and faith-based groups…
Every day, America’s hospitals and health systems are on the front lines of combatting the epidemic of addiction to prescription opioids or heroin. This public health crisis is rapidly growing in communities across the country and can no longer be ignored.
Hospital leaders earlier this week came to Washington for an AHA-hosted Advocacy Day briefing that laid the groundwork for meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Front and center in those talks were our concerns about stopping the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from moving forward…
Today, hundreds of hospital leaders are reaching out to their members of Congress to talk about the challenges facing their patients and communities.What are the issues facing hospitals and health systems today? Recent developments regarding the so-called site-neutral payment provisions included in…
This Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of that fateful day when hospitals in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and western Pennsylvania received the call to prepare for victims of terrorist attacks. Nurses, doctors, emergency workers and others worked side by side,…
Several health insurers, both large and small, have announced plans to dramatically scale back their offerings in the Health Insurance Marketplaces next year. This development is troubling because more than 11 million Americans rely on the Marketplaces for their health coverage, and access to care…
“New Medicare Law to Notify Patients of Loophole in Nursing Home Coverage,” the article rightly highlights the role of Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) -- overzealous government audit contractors -- in the increase in observation status.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has a responsibility to provide fair and equitable compensation to hospitals for the care they provide to Medicare patients. Sadly, the way the agency proposes to treat new off-campus provider-based outpatient clinics falls far short of that standard…
Over the past two decades – and the past five years in particular – a national discussion emerged that focused on managing rising health care costs. These increases have not always led to improved outcomes, and at the same time, medical knowledge has increased exponentially and clinical knowledge…