News

We know that prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, demand for health care workers and health care job openings were at record highs. We also know that the pandemic created pressure to quickly ramp up staffing levels and optimize surge capacity, even as the cancellation of non-emergent surgeries caused serious financial challenges for hospitals and health systems.

The average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health coverage rose 4% this year to $21,342, including employer and worker contributions, according to the latest annual survey of employer-sponsored health insurance by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The AHA joined five other national medical groups in urging the Department of Homeland Security to exclude foreign national physicians in the J-1 visa program from a proposed change to the process for extending certain non-immigrant visa stays in the United States.

Among 767 hotspot counties for COVID-19 in June and July, early increases in the rate of positive test results for Americans under age 25 were followed by several weeks of rising positivity rates in older age groups, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The National Institutes of Health has launched a global clinical trial to test a potential COVID-19 treatment that combines remdesivir with a highly concentrated antibody solution.

A bipartisan group of 32 senators expressed concerns that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Sept. 19 change to COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund reporting requirements will create uncertainty and financial hardship for hospitals, particularly those in rural areas.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced new repayment terms for payments received under its Accelerated and Advance Payment programs, including a longer time period before repayment, lower recoupment rates during repayment, lower interest on remaining unpaid balance, and additional repayment flexibilities.

The good — our society clearly recognizes the vital role our hospitals and health systems play in our nation’s critical infrastructure and how important they are to our communities’ health and safety. The bad — we have seen an increase in the frequency, severity and sophistication of cyberattacks targeting hospitals and health systems.

The Health Resources and Services Administration Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. ET will host a webcast to provide additional information on the latest round of COVID-19 Provider Relief Funds.

Wendy Darwell will become president and CEO of the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council and Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association (NorMet) effective Jan. 1, succeeding Kevin Dahill when he retires Dec. 31, leaders of the organizations announced yesterday.

For the latest in her Leadership Rounds series of conversations with hospital and health system leaders from across the nation, AHA Board Chair Melinda Estes, M.D., is joined by Kimberlydawn Wisdom, M.D., senior vice president of community health and equity and chief wellness and diversity officer at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, M.D., released a report urging Americans to recognize and address hypertension control as a national public health priority.

An estimated 7.7 million workers lost jobs with employer-sponsored health insurance between February and June during the pandemic, according to a study released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, W.E.

The Food and Drug Administration recommended that health care providers provide written or video step-by-step instructions, in addition to verbal instructions, to patients who are self-collecting anterior nares (nasal) samples for COVID-19 testing in a health care setting.

The Food and Drug Administration warned Battelle Memorial Institute that its respirator decontamination system does not comply with the requirement in its emergency use authorization to establish internal systems that provide for timely and effective identification, communication and evaluation of adverse events, and asked the device maker to submit a correction plan within 14 days.

Pittsburgh’s UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital adopted a variety of technologies to improve clinical outcomes and promote greater patient engagement.

The AHA has elected to fill a vacancy on its Board of Trustees Phyllis Cowling, president and CEO of United Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Financial institutions and other organizations that facilitate ransomware payments may face sanctions for assisting a malicious cyber actor that the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned, according to a recent OFAC advisory.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has used the “4Ms Framework” for an Age-Friendly Health System in its geriatric fracture program and for telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The American Medical Association released for immediate use Current Procedural Terminology codes for reporting on medical claims two laboratory tests (87636 and 87637) that simultaneously detect the COVID-19 virus, influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus.