News

Mergers and acquisitions are important tools that some hospitals use to manage financial pressures and increase access to care for patients, AHA told the Senate Finance Committee in a statement submitted for a hearing June 8 on consolidation and corporate ownership in health care. 

Communicating information is critical during emergencies and disasters.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized for marketing the first at-home over-the-counter test for COVID-19 using a traditional premarket review pathway rather than emergency use authorities.

The AHA is pushing back against a recent Health Affairs article that uses flawed, debunked methodology in an attempt to undermine hospitals through preconceived notions of how the field’s finances are managed.

Escalating costs associated with managing their own practice coupled with burdensome insurer policies and regulatory requirements are some of the factors driving physicians to seek employment in other practice settings, according to a new report released by the AHA.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration today released National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification for people who help others address a substance use or mental health issue through their own lived experience.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will host a June 8 call for clinicians on an outbreak of fungal meningitis in patients who received procedures under epidural anesthesia at clinics in Matamoros, Mexico. To date, over 200 U.S. citizens have been exposed to these procedures between Jan. 1 and May 13, when the clinics closed, with three deaths reported.

As urged by the AHA and its professional membership group the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management, the Food and Drug Administration yesterday released guidance to help hospitals and other health care providers conserve pneumatic tourniquet cuffs after a recent recall led to local supply shortages.

AHA yesterday urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to adjust its proposed fiscal year 2024 market basket update for inpatient psychiatric facilities to account for underpayments in FY 2022 relative to inflation.

A new AHA infographic shows how legislation that would impose billions of dollars in additional site-neutral payment reductions to services provided in off-campus hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) fails to account for the fundamental differences between HOPDs and other ambulatory care sites, would exacerbate Medicare’s chronic failure to cover the cost of care and jeopardize beneficiary access to essential care and services.

More than 200 hospital and health system leaders on June 6 participated in an AHA Advocacy Day briefing to get the latest developments from Capitol Hill. AHA leaders briefed those in attendance on a number of issues, including site-neutral payment policies, the 340B Drug Pricing Program, consolidation, physician-owned hospitals and price transparency.

A University of Michigan expert discusses how environmental sustainability efforts can benefit hospitals and health systems and supplement their other ongoing initiatives like engaging the workforce.

Hospitals and health systems committed to leadership and innovation in improving quality and advancing health are invited to apply for the 2024 AHA Quest for Quality Prize

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra June 2 declared a public health emergency in the territory of Guam due to Typhoon Mawar, and waived or modified certain Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements to ensure sufficient health care items and services are available.

In comments submitted June 5, AHA said it appreciates that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a net positive update for the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system for fiscal year 2024, but remains concerned that the agency’s market basket approach lags in recognizing inflationary trends and may not fully capture the rising costs of care

In comments submitted June 5, AHA said it appreciates that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has not proposed any major payment or coverage changes to the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System for fiscal year 2024, but urged the agency to consider changing its historical approach to the annual payment update to reflect the increased costs that hospitals are facing due to inflation and labor shortages.

On Friday, AHA led the seventh annual #HAVhope Friday, part of its Hospital Against Violence initiative, to focus national attention on ending all forms of violence in our workplaces and communities.

The FDA on June 2 told AHA that is has worked with Qilu Pharmaceuticals and Apotex Corp. to temporarily import cisplatin, a drug used in chemotherapy, after a national shortage.

The application window for AHA’s 2024 Circle of Life Awards is now open. The award recognizes programs and organizations that provide innovative palliative or end-of-life care. The deadline to apply is July 10.

On #HAVhope Day, hear some of the ways health care leaders are tackling the problem of workplace aggression and the potential solutions.