News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of Minority Health seeks public input through April 12 on opportunities to improve health care access, quality and outcomes before, during and after pregnancy for women and infants in rural communities.

The House Ways and Means Committee favorably reported out, as amended, the Consumer Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills Act (H.R. 5826), AHA-supported legislation to address surprise medical bills. 

The Minnesota Hospital Association named as its president and CEO Rahul Koranne, M.D., who has served as senior vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer for the association since 2015.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments April 17 in the Department of Health and Human Services’ appeal of a district court ruling in favor of the AHA and hospital organizations that found the agency could not reduce calendar year 2019 payments for hospital outpatient services provided in grandfathered off-campus provider-based departments.

The House Education and Labor Committee voted 32-13 to report out an amended version of the Ban Surprise Billing Act (H.R. 5800), legislation to address surprise medical bills. The bill relies on a median in-network rate to resolve out-of-network payments.

As hospitals and health systems raise concerns over possible shortages of personal protective equipment, including respirators, the CDC continues to update its guidance and provide strategies that health care providers can use during the novel coronavirus outbreak now and in the event of a shortage of N95 respirators.

President Trump today submitted to Congress his budget request for fiscal year 2021.

The Department of Health and Human Services will create a Foundry for American Biotechnology to produce technological solutions to address health security threats and enhance daily medical care, the agency announced.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to withdraw its proposed rule on Medicaid program financing and supplemental payments.

The AHA expressed support for the Consumer Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills Act of 2020, bipartisan legislation released last week by leaders of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance and resources for U.S. health care personnel working in environments possibly exposed to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

When physicians bring those same clinical skills and perspectives into leadership roles, it often leads to healthier patients and thriving hospitals and health systems. With that in mind, two years ago the AHA launched its AHA Physician Alliance to help hospitals more effectively partner with physicians.

The House of Representatives voted 224-193 to pass a non-binding resolution denouncing recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services guidance that gives states the option to request a defined amount of federal Medicaid funding to cover certain healthy adults.

The American Organization for Nursing Leadership on March 19 will present its 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award to Ann Marie T. Brooks, president of the Mount Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released toolkits highlighting care coordination and patient engagement strategies from Medicare accountable care organizations.

Employment at the nation's hospitals rose by 0.19% in January to a seasonally adjusted 5,252,800 people, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Ranking Member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, released legislative text of the Consumer Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills Act of 2020, the committee’s proposal to address surprise medical bills.

There could be a shortage of personal protective equipment, such as masks, in health care settings due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Department of Health and Human Services reiterated. 

AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack provides perspective on Medicaid and details potential cuts to the program which threaten millions of America’s most vulnerable patients.

There is no risk-free setting for giving birth, whether at home, a birth center or a hospital, according to a report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Each birth setting has both risks and benefits, the study committee found.