News

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline last week announced that georouting, a process which routs cellphone calls to 988 contact centers based on the caller’s approximate location, began last week with two major U.S. wireless carriers, that, together, make up nearly half of all wireless calls to 988.

A Louisiana district court Sept. 30 upheld a state law prohibiting drug companies from denying Louisiana hospitals 340B discounts for drugs dispensed at community pharmacies.

The Department of Health and Human Services Sept. 29 declared a public health emergency for North Carolina due to health impacts from Hurricane Helene after making similar declarations for Florida and Georgia.

Johnson & Johnson Sept. 30 notified the Health Resources and Services Administration that it is ceasing implementation of its proposed 340B rebate model.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Sept. 27 announced that average premiums, benefits and plan choices for Medicare Advantage and Part D will remain stable for 2025.

In this episode, I talk with Steve Diaz, M.D., chief medical officer at MaineGeneral Health in Augusta and an AHA board member. Steve is an emergency medicine physician by training and has been involved in many of MaineGeneral’s health care quality and safety initiatives.

In this conversation, Brenda Romero, administrator at Presbyterian Española Hospital, discusses the methods for accessing treatment and the importance of the hospital's innovative and community-focused work.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Sept. 25 released a survey showing that less than one in five U.S. adults are concerned about themselves or a family member getting a respiratory virus infection this fall and winter.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General Sept. 24 recommended that additional oversight is needed to ensure that remote patient monitoring in Medicare is being used and billed appropriately, according to a report.

The Health Resources and Services Administration Sept. 27 sent a final warning letter to Johnson & Johnson urging the company to inform the agency by Monday, Sept. 30 that it would halt its proposed 340B rebate model scheduled to go into effect next month. 

AHA's newest social media toolkit for encouraging vaccination against the flu and COVID-19 focuses on receiving the latest vaccines before peak respiratory virus season begins.

Nonprofit hospitals have special obligations to their communities in exchange for being tax-exempt.

The Senate Sept. 25 voted 78-18 to pass a continuing resolution funding the government through Dec. 20 and avoiding a government shutdown.

The AHA Sept. 26 launched a new video series in which former AHA Board Chair Mindy Estes, M.D., has conversations with hospital and health system leaders about strategies that executives and boards are taking to advance patient safety and quality.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Sept. 26 released guidance on state compliance with the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment requirements under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Clinical validation audits are a new tactic that certain commercial insurers are adopting to reduce or deny payment to health care providers and can take months or even years to be adjudicated and resolved.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Sept. 24 issued a final rule that would carve out significant, anomalous, and highly suspect (SAHS) billing from Medicare Shared Savings Program financial calculations for calendar year 2023.

The House Sept. 25 voted 341-82 to pass a continuing resolution (H.R.9747) funding the government through Dec. 20 and avoiding a government shutdown.

The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation Sept. 24 recognized 34 licensure boards and 375 hospitals for changing invasive and stigmatizing mental health questions in their licensing applications. 

The AHA and the Electronic Health Record Association Sept. 23 filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, challenging a Maryland district court decision to allow Linthicum, Md.-based Real Time Medical Systems to proceed with a state-law claim premised on the federal Cures Act's information blocking prohibition.