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The latest stories from AHA Today.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services late today issued its proposed rule for the physician fee schedule for calendar year 2018. CMS estimates a 0.31% increase in physician payment rates for 2018 compared to 2017, after applying a 0.5% payment increase required by the Medicare Access and…
The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will have sufficient funds to cover its obligations until 2029, one year later than projected last year, according to the latest annual report from the Medicare Board of Trustees. The projected 75-year actuarial deficit in the Hospital Insurance…
At an event this morning in Charleston, WV, patients and their advocates highlighted concerns with recent proposals to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act, including the recent Senate proposal. Speakers included the mother of a young cancer patient, a heart patient, stroke survivor…
The House Appropriations Committee yesterday released draft legislation that would provide $156 billion in discretionary funding for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal year 2018, $5 billion less than in FY 2017.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today issued a report recommending actions to contain and reverse the harmful societal effects of the prescription and illicit opioid epidemics.
Two programs that expand the reach of palliative and end-of-life care will receive 2017 Circle of Life Awards July 28 at the AHA Leadership Summit in San Diego. They are: Bluegrass Care Navigators in Lexington, KY; and Providence Health & Services’ TrinityCare Hospice & TrinityKids…
Responding to a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services request for information on ways to reduce regulatory burdens and improve health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act, AHA today urged the agency to commit to funding cost-sharing reductions and enforce the individual mandate,…
The departments of Health and Human Services and the Treasury yesterday approved a Section 1332 waiver for Alaska to implement a five-year reinsurance program for its health insurance marketplace beginning in 2018. The state-operated program will cover claims for people with any of 33 high-cost…
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations today held a hearing to examine how states are combating the opioid crisis. Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA) called for reforming 42 CFR Part 2, a 1970s law that limits the sharing of substance abuse treatment records…
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce today held a hearing examining the impact of the National Labor Relations Board’s expanded “joint employer” standard.