News

A number of legislative proposals being considered by Congress would impose billions of dollars in additional Medicare payment cuts for services provided by hospital outpatient departments and reduce patient access to vital health care services, AHA Executive Vice President Stacey Hughes said today during a panel discussion hosted by Politico. 

The Department of Health and Human Services Sept. 18 alerted the health care sector to a critical vulnerability in ManageEngine products that allows an attacker to perform remote code execution and which a North Korean state-sponsored actor is reportedly using to target health care entities in Europe and the United States.

Northwell Health Sept. 18 hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who recognized staff at the health system’s Staten Island University Hospital for their ongoing efforts to support his nation’s medical providers amid Ukraine’s war with Russia.

AHA’s chief nursing officer and chief physician executive encourage hospitals and health systems to ensure the questions asked on licensing, credentialing and other applications don’t perpetuate stigma or deter team members from seeking behavioral health services when needed.

The Centers for Medicare the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Sept. 18 finalized select provisions in its proposed rule to streamline Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program enrollment.

Certain policy decisions and challenges in implementing the No Surprises Act have undermined the unbiased and timely process Congress intended and contributed to a higher-than-anticipated volume of disputed claims, AHA told the House Ways and Means Committee in a statement submitted for a hearing Sept. 19 on the law’s implementation.

The AHA and American Medical Association Sept. 17 urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to affirm a district court decision that invalidated a No Surprises Act final rule that favors insurers in the independent dispute resolution process and threatens serious harm to the law’s patient protection goals.  

The Food and Drug Administration will accept comments through Nov. 17 on draft guidance for labeling proposed biosimilar and interchangeable biosimilar products.

The Joint Commission in January will launch a voluntary certification program to help U.S. hospitals accelerate their sustainable practices and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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