News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week awarded 14 states and the District of Columbia planning grants totaling $48.5 million to increase access to evidence-based treatment and recovery services for Medicaid patients with substance use disorders.

The American Organization of Nursing Leadership has chosen as its 2020 president-elect Erik Martin, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Ky.

Among other benefits to the community, mergers can help hospitals deploy more effective safeguards against hackers, writes AHA General Counsel Melinda Hatton.

House Democratic leaders today released the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, a bill that would make a series of changes to the Medicare program in an effort to lower the price of prescription drugs.

The House of Representatives today voted 301-123 to approve a continuing resolution that would fund the federal government through Nov. 21 and prevent impending Medicaid cuts, among other provisions.

AHA today participated in a listening session held by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to receive additional input on potential changes to the overall hospital star ratings methodology.

The AHA today expressed concerns with the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (S. 386/H.R.1044), legislation that would eliminate the per-country cap for immigrant visas.

Reps. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., have introduced the Advancing Education on Biosimilars Act of 2019, which would create federal programs to promote the use of use cost-effective biosimilar drugs.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce today held a hearing to examine how pharmaceutical companies are putting “profits over consumers."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today updated the number of people with confirmed or probable lung injuries associated with electronic cigarette use or vaping products to 530 in 38 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including seven deaths.

Rep. Roger Marshall, M.D., R-Kan., today hosted at the Library of Congress a briefing and expert panel on human trafficking and how health care providers can help trafficking victims.

According to a committee summary, the draft bill would provide $93.4 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Health and Human Services, an increase of $2.9 billion over FY 2019.

“In just the first half of 2019, we have seen multi-billion dollar acquisitions announced by Pfizer and Roche in addition to the proposed AbbVie and Bristol-Myers deals,” they wrote.

The state of Tennessee yesterday released for public comment a proposal to convert the bulk of federal funding for its Medicaid program to a block grant.

For the fourth consecutive year, AHA sponsored the Annual Congressional Black Caucus Spouses’ Community Breakfast and Health Fair for disadvantaged men and women.

A federal judge yesterday ruled in favor of the AHA and hospital organizations saying that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services exceeded its statutory authority when it reduced payments for hospital outpatient services provided in off-campus provider-based departments grandfathered under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. 

The AHA today commented on provisions related to surprise medical billing legislation that the House Education and Labor Committee could consider soon.

A bipartisan group of 92 members of Congress yesterday urged the Food and Drug Administration to prioritize the release of an interagency task force report on the root causes of drug shortages and recommendations to address them.

The Alliance for Addiction Payment Reform, of which the AHA is a member, is partnering with health care providers and payers to test an alternative payment model for addiction treatment and recovery in Connecticut, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, D.C.

Sens. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., today introduced legislation that would prohibit using federal funds to implement, administer or enforce the Department of Homeland Security’s public charge rule.