AHA Stat Blog

A recent paper funded by the objective-sounding organization the “National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation” adds to the growing list of commercial health insurer-backed, bias-riddled research aimed at diverting attention away from that industry’s troubling practices. This time they claim to have found a link between hospital consolidation and access for people covered by Medicaid.

On today’s episode, I talk with Greg Bentz, board chair of Saint Luke’s Health System, based in Kansas City, Mo., and chair of the AHA Committee on Governance.

As we’ve seen from recent media reports, Congress — and especially the House right now — continues to struggle to put together a plan to keep the government funded and avoid a potential shutdown that few want to see.

The American Society for Health Care Risk Management will host the ASHRM23 Annual Conference Oct. 1-4 in Minneapolis. This conference brings together professionals from across the health care risk management sector.

The Medicaid program now faces the most significant coverage challenge in more than a decade. Consequently, over the past few months, hospitals have started to see a substantial increase in uncompensated care.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) believes that no health care worker should experience barriers to seeking or receiving behavioral health care. Consistent with that commitment, we encourage hospitals to examine any practices impacting whether health care providers seek behavioral health care services.

The greatest resource in the health care field is our workforce.

Hospitals are places of healing, health and hope. They strive to create safe spaces for the patients and communities they serve and the dedicated team members who work there each and every day.

For National Suicide Prevention Month and National Physician Suicide Awareness Day, the Zero Suicide Institute and the Suicide Prevention in the Health Care Workforce guide provides strategies for preventing suicide in physicians and health care workers.

September is National Preparedness Month. And today marks the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

With only 11 days that the House and Senate are in session together before the fiscal year concludes, much of the attention in Washington is on how Congress will fund the government and whether there will be a government shutdown.

The Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development will host the SHSMD23 Connections Conference Sept. 10 – 12 in Chicago.

Consider these statistics and the impact on health care: By 2035, the number of adults age 65 or older is expected to outnumber children under age 18 for the first time in U.S. history, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Fair competition has always been the driving principle of our nation’s economy. This includes health care, and it’s the reason the Ethics in Patient Referrals Act, more commonly known as the “Stark Law,” has been on the books for decades to protect the Medicare program from the inherent conflict of interest created when physicians self-refer their patients to facilities and services in which they have a financial stake.

The Mayo Clinic Hospital in Arizona is a tertiary referral care hospital. Community hospitals that have patients who have complex health needs and who need specialty care send those patients to us. Through community partnerships — including with local health departments and community-based organizations — all stakeholders can come together to strengthen the health of the populations we serve better than we could do apart.

Vaccines are powerful weapons against most diseases. Nearly a dozen serious diseases —including polio, smallpox and whooping cough — have been eradicated because of vaccines. That’s important to remember as we observe National Immunization Awareness Month in August.