News

The Senate Finance Committee last week released draft legislation to improve mental health parity and access to behavioral health services in Medicare and Medicaid.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals should affirm a district court’s decision to dismiss a meritless lawsuit that “sought to turn one doctor’s disappointment in not being hired by a hospital as an employed physician into an [False Claims Act] suit for Medicare fraud,” AHA and the four state hospital associations in the circuit said in a friend-of-the-court brief filed yesterday. 

The average hospital stay increased 19% overall in 2022 compared with pre-pandemic levels, and increased 24% for patients discharged to post-acute care, according to a new AHA issue brief based on data from Strata Decision Technology.

More than 250 hospital and health system leaders participated in today’s AHA Advocacy Day to urge Congress to include in a year-end legislative package priorities to support hospitals and health systems to ensure they are able to continue their mission of caring for the communities they serve.

The latest AHA podcast on leading initiatives to transform care and advance equity looks at Jefferson Health’s success in expanding diversity at the supervisory level, an initiative recognized by AHA’s 2022 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., today encouraged all eligible Americans to get vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19, noting that hospitals continue to experience the highest flu admissions in a decade this early in the season.

The House Friday voted 390-26 to approve bipartisan legislation (H.R.8876) that would reauthorize the federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program and double annual funding f

AHA today expressed concern that legislation to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based immigrant visas (H.R.3648) could severely limit the future ability of foreign-trained nurses to obtain immigrant visas.

The AHA team is planning a strong lineup of conferences and events for 2023 to keep health care leaders connected and highlight stories of impact, innovation and inspiration.

Hospitals and health systems added 10,800 jobs in October, while U.S. jobs overall increased by 261,000, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

HHS released the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program federal medical assistance percentages for fiscal year FY 2024.

The number of health care providers with waivers to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder increased 19% between October 2021 and September 2022 to 132,005, HHS announced.

HIPAA-regulated entities are not permitted to use online tracking technologies in a manner that would result in impermissible disclosures of protected health information to tracking technology vendors or any other violation of the HIPAA rules, HHS' Office for Civil Rights reminded covered entities and business associates in a bulletin yesterday.

The Health Resources and Services Administration has released Maternity Care Target Area weighted scores for Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas experiencing a shortage of maternity health care professionals.

The National Quality Forum’s Measure Applications Partnership is accepting public comment through Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. ET on 52 performance measures CMS is considering for use in Medicare public reporting and payment programs.

AHA sent a letter to Sen. Mark Warner, co-chair of the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, responding to his recent report on policy options to address cybersecurity challenges in the health care field.

As Congress convenes for its post-election lame-duck session, we are turning up the pressure to secure additional support for hospitals and the patients and communities they serve. We need to put on a full-court press — and that includes all of us reaching out to our senators and representatives — to urge them to include a number of key priorities in a year-end spending package.

Learn how New York’s Mount Sinai Health System took on the task of addressing its community’s health inequities while managing the myriad challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, an effort that captured AHA's 2022 Equity of Care Award.

AHA today urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services not to establish a national directory of health care providers and services (NDH) at this time.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services seeks public input on topics related to essential health benefits — items and services that all non-grandfathered health plans in the individual and small group markets must cover under the Affordable Care Act