News

AHA’s Lisa Kidder Hrobsky, senior vice president of federal relations, advocacy and political affairs, talks with two veteran political consultants about key results from the House and Senate races and what their impact will mean for the next Congress

Infants under 6 months old had the highest COVID-19 hospitalization rates among Americans under age 65 during March 20-Aug. 31, when the omicron BA.2 and BA.5 variants predominated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today.

South Dakotans yesterday voted to amend their state constitution to expand Medicaid eligibility to low-income adults under the Affordable Care Act. The measure requires the state to submit to the federal government by March 1 a Medicaid state plan amendment to expand eligibility by July 1, 2023.

The Food and Drug Administration recently updated its health care provider fact sheet on bebtelovimab to note that the monoclonal antibody is not expected to neutralize omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.

AHA today voiced support for the Building America’s Health Care Workforce Act (H.R.7744), legislation that would extend for two years after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency certain flexibilities relating to training and competency requirements for nurse aides in skilled nursing facilities.

Teaching hospitals have until Nov. 18 to ask Medicare to review their per resident amounts or resident caps for certain cost reports, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced this month.

AHA’s Stress MeterTM resource can help health care workers and others identify their current stress level and access helpful resources in just a few clicks.

AHA is accepting applications through Nov.

The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange advisory group yesterday urged Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to work closely with standards development organizations and other health care partners to identify and pilot test appropriate No Surprises Act standards, harmonize them with existing and forthcoming standards and workflows, and implement them in stages

Isabel Wilkerson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, best-selling author and National Humanities Medal recipient, will give the opening keynote address at AHA’s 2023 Accelerating Health Equity Conference, which will be held May 16-18 in Minneapolis.

The Ebola outbreak in Uganda has not spread to the United States or other countries to date, the CDC said in an update to clinicians.

Independent, physician office and hospital outreach laboratories that meet the definition of an applicable laboratory under the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule must report certain private payer data between Jan. 1 through March 31, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in a reminder last week.

Two issues that a majority of Americans have agreed on during this election cycle are concerns about the economy and inflation.

AHA has partnered with Musicians On Call, a nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to patients, to bring hospitalized veterans in all Veterans Affairs facilities the healing power of music this Veterans Day, Nov. 11, and all month long starting Monday. The virtual Concert For Veterans Presented by Wrangler, hosted by Jamie O’Neal, will feature performances and words of gratitude from over 30 artists.

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. Total health care jobs grew by over 52,000 in October to a seasonally adjusted 16.6 million. Nursing and residential care facility employment also grew by 11,100 in October.

AHA is making several recommendations in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ “Make Your Voice Heard” request for information on promoting equity and efficiency within the agency’s programs. The comments, submitted to CMS today, focus on access to health care coverage; sustaining the health care workforce; advancing health equity; and the potential continuation regulatory flexibilities borne out of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should require health insurers to use the existing claims processing framework to create a patient’s advanced explanation of benefits to ensure the AEOB closely reflects the patient’s final bill and cost information, the AHA told the agency today.

AHA today urged the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to order the Department of Health and Human Services to promptly repay 340B hospitals for unlawful payment cuts in previous years, given the agency’s continued delay in implementing or even proposing a remedy on its own.

The AHA today urged the National Labor Relations Board to withdraw a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the standard for determining joint-employer status or, consistent with the board’s historical approach, exempt hospitals from compliance.

The United States is experiencing a resurgence in non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses, with the flu hospitalization rate at this early time in the season the highest in a decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today. Officials said they also are tracking elevated levels of Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which usually causes mild cold-like symptoms but can be serious, especially for infants and older adults.