News

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission released its March report to Congress. The report details the fee-for-service payment recommendations for 2021 approved by the commission in January, including recommendations for hospital services and post-acute care.

The AHA, American Nurses Association and American Medical Association today urged the president to declare the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a disaster or emergency under the Stafford Act or the National Emergencies Act. 

AHA has released a replay of its March 12 webinar on using Z codes to document social determinants of health, a valuable but underused tool for hospitals to improve the health and well-being of their patients and communities.

A new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality consolidates the latest evidence on 47 patient safety practices to help hospitals, primary care practices, long-term care facilities and other providers target and focus their patient safety efforts.

Overall cancer death rates continue to decline for U.S. men, women and children, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.

The United States Pharmacopeia Appeals Panel remanded the revised USP General Chapter standards for nonsterile compounding and for sterile compounding to an expert committee “for further engagement on the issues raised concerning the beyond-use date provisions.”

AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack and hospital and health system leaders met with top Administration officials at the White House to discuss the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Internal Revenue Service have released a number of new information resources related to COVID-19.

Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica health system will receive the $100,000 Foster G. McGaw Prize for its leadership in addressing community health needs.

Medicare Part D plans and drug makers may apply to participate in a new payment model starting in January, which will allow plan sponsors to offer benefits that limit cost sharing for a 30-day supply of insulin to no more than $35.

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee approved 13 health care bills, including legislation that would reauthorize the AHA-supported Healthy Start program and codify Medicaid coverage for non-emergency medical transportation.

In light of the latest novel coronavirus (COVID-19) developments and the unprecedented and still growing demand for health care, construction and architecture organizations at this time, the American Society for Health Care Engineering said it has made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel its 2020 PDC Summit.

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare will donate $1 million to assist those affected by the March 3 tornadoes in middle Tennessee, which damaged about 2,000 homes and buildings.

In response to questions from stakeholders, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a calendar of key dates for the Medicare Direct Contracting Model.

The FTC's decision to challenge the proposed union of Thomas Jefferson University hospital network and Albert Einstein Healthcare Network frustrates the ability of these two non-profit hospital systems to “bring about higher quality, greater access and more stability of health care services to some of the most vulnerable patient populations in the Philadelphia region,” AHA told congressional leaders.

Members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus introduced a package of bills supported by the AHA and its American Organization for Nursing Leadership to prevent maternal mortality and racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said the agency is in the process of setting up a public tracker for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) tests, and it could be available this week.  

Accelerating investment in physician practices by nontraditional players offers hospitals and health systems opportunities to develop thoughtful, targeted physician alignment strategies, writes Mital Patel, senior director, market research and intelligence, at the AHA Center for Health Innovation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance for evaluating and testing patients for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and for assessing and managing health care personnel with potential exposure to patients with the virus.  

Wade Mountz, who led Louisville, Ky.-based Norton Healthcare and its predecessor organizations for 30 years and was a past AHA chair and president of the Kentucky Hospital Association, died March 5.

In light of the latest novel coronavirus (COVID-19) developments and the need for nursing leaders to remain onsite in their essential roles, the AHA and its American Organization for Nursing Leadership subsidiary made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel AONL’s March conference, the groups have announced.