AHA Stat Blog

Trends in health insurance coverage are driving an increase in medical debt: these include inadequate enrollment in comprehensive health care coverage and high-deductible and skinny health plans that intentionally push more costs onto patients.

On today’s episode, I talk with three health care leaders affiliated with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB): Terri Poe, chief nursing officer at UAB Medicine; Maria Rodriguez Shirey, de

For years, many commercial health insurers treated coverage for mental health or substance use disorders (SUD) very differently than for medical and surgical benefits.

Given the historic financial pressures borne by hospitals and health systems over the last eighteen months, there is tremendous focus on organizations’ margins. Simply put, this metric tells us how an organization’s costs compare to their revenues and is one, but not the only, indicator of a hospital or health system’s financial health.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” This anonymous quote — which some have attributed to Albert Einstein — sums up one lesson from the pandemic.

Legislators need to be aware of the work that hospitals and health systems do now more than ever because the House and Senate are considering so-called site-neutral legislation that would further reduce Medicare funding for patient services provided by hospitals.

Modern Healthcare’s putative report on CMS’ 340B remedy proposal is completely wrong and irresponsible for the following reasons. First, to buttress its conclusions the article relies on quotes from an academic whose 340B research is funded in whole or in part by an organization with an anti-hospital agenda.

Sixteen months ago, Chris Manson voluntarily took on the task of locating ambulances that have reached the end of their service life in America and shipping them to Ukraine, where they are so badly needed to transport those in need of care, both civilians and soldiers alike.

Each year, the AHA Quest for Quality Prize recognizes hospitals and health systems that have committed to and are making significant progress toward providing exceptional care to patients based on those six “STEEEP” aims.

In recent years, the dedication to innovation has been fueled in part by advancements in technology. Patients right now — and in the future — can expect more care delivery that is driven by 3D modeling; predictive analytics; advanced robotics for surgeries and treatments; and personalized therapies based on genomics.

America’s hospitals and health systems, regardless of size, location and ownership type, provided essential care to their patients and communities during the pandemic. Congress recognized the critical role hospitals play as the backbone of our health care system and swiftly took steps in the early days of the pandemic to provide support to ensure hospitals would remain resilient.

A new opinion piece supported by Arnold Ventures and published in the New England Journal of Medicine is another unfair assault on the only sector in health care that routinely gives back so much more to their communities than they receive in tax relief.

Many commercial health insurance policies and practices often disrupt, delay and deny medically necessary care to patients.

The American Society for Health Care Engineering Annual Conference will be held Aug. 6-9 in San Antonio. This gathering allows professionals to connect, discuss new and emerging trends, and explore long-standing issues.

Assessing the impact of artificial intelligence on health care delivery, managing workforce challenges, addressing environmental sustainability, improving the health care consumer experience: All these topics and more will be highlighted at the AHA Leadership Summit, July 16–18 in Seattle.

The late American economist and author Peter Drucker observed that "management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things."

On Tuesday, we will celebrate the 247th birthday of the United States. Many people will do so with picnics, barbeques, fireworks and other hallmarks of our Fourth of July celebrations.

A new study funded by Patient Rights Advocate adds to the evidence that physician-owned hospitals (POHs) are not comparable to or substitutes for full-service acute care hospitals.