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The latest stories from AHA Today.

A federal judge yesterday rejected a request by the Department of Health and Human Services that he reconsider requiring the agency to eliminate within four years the Medicare claims appeals backlog pending at the administrative law judge level. A Motion to Reconsider “is not a vehicle…
More than 8.7 million people selected a health plan through HealthCare.gov Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced yesterday. Three-quarters of those selecting plans were renewing coverage and the rest were new consumers. Thirty-nine states are using…
The AHA today released its 2017-2020 Strategic Plan, which provides an overview of the association’s strategic direction over the next four years based on input from members and the environmental forces impacting the field. Strategic priorities include: advocating for access and coverage;…
Daniel Mendelson, M.D., associate chief of medicine and director of palliative care for Highland Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, NY, will serve as 2017 council chair of the AHA’s Section for Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation. Kenneth Bowman, CEO of Van Matre…
The AHA’s Hospitals Against Violence initiative and American Society for Healthcare Engineering will co-host a Jan. 17 webinar on workplace violence prevention strategies and emergency response plans. The webinar will feature safety experts from the International Association for…
The Health Resources and Services Administration today released a final rule on drug ceiling prices and civil monetary penalties for manufacturers in the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
Minnesota, Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania will participate in a two-year demonstration program authorized by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 that will pay certified community behavioral health clinics under a prospective payment system…
The departments of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Friday granted Hawaii the first State Innovation Waiver under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act. Section 1332 allows the federal agencies to waive specific ACA provisions for states if the proposal would provide similar coverage to…
The number of drug overdose deaths per year rose 23% between 2010 and 2014, to 47,055, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 10 most frequently involved drugs included six opioids (heroin, oxycodone, methadone, morphine, hydrocodone and fentanyl);…
The share of Americans who reported driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year fell from 15.3% in 2002 to 11.1% in 2014, according to a recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The share of Americans who reported driving under the influence…