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The latest stories from AHA Today.
In a letter to the House Veterans Affairs Committee, the AHA June 24 urged Congress to reject any request by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to redirect funding for the Veterans Choice Program to other VA programs. The AHA sent the letter the day before the committee held a hearing on the…
The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled 6-3 that subsidies can continue for the purchase of health insurance for qualified individuals in the 34 states that rely on the federal government to operate their health insurance exchanges.Plaintiffs in the case King v. Burwell had challenged the validity of…
The Senate Finance Committee June 24 approved three AHA-backed bills to support access to hospital services in rural communities and to emergency psychiatric care for underserved and vulnerable populations.S. 1461 would delay through December enforcement of direct supervision requirements for…
The Senate Finance Committee today approved three AHA-backed bills to support access to hospital services in rural communities and to emergency psychiatric care for underserved and vulnerable populations. S. 1461 would delay through December enforcement of direct supervision requirements for…
Hospitals continue to appeal Recovery Audit Contractor claim denials, according to the latest report from the AHA's quarterly RACTrac survey. Hospitals participating in the first-quarter 2015 survey report appealing 44% of all RAC claim denials, with a 73% overturn rate in the appeals process.…
The House of Representatives last night voted 244-154 to approve legislation (H.R. 1190) to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board. The 15-member board was created by the Affordable Care Act to make binding recommendations on Medicare payment policy. Hospitals (but not critical assess…
An estimated 36 million U.S. residents lacked health insurance at some time during 2014, 8.8 million fewer than in 2013, according to a report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The proportion of residents who were uninsured when interviewed for the National…
Fewer than one in 10 eligible older patients receive an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator within one year of a heart attack, according to a study published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. ICDs are small devices implanted in the chest or abdomen to help treat…
In a letter to the editor published today, AHA takes issue with a recent New York Times editorial for failing to “mention some key facts” about the complexities of hospital prices. “First and foremost, Medicare and Medicaid payments do not reflect hospital costs,” notes…
The Class of 2017 profiles the women and men who joined the AHA board this year.Every hospital is pursuing its own pathway to a more performance-driven future, says Thomas Miller, who is president of Division V Operations for Community Health Systems in Franklin, Tenn.