News

Last year was the worst financial year for U.S. hospitals and health systems since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as growth in expenses outpaced growth in revenues and volumes, according to the latest report on hospital finances from Kaufman Hall. 

Drugmakers that participate in the 340B drug pricing program do not have to provide discounted 340B drugs to an unlimited number of contract pharmacies, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled in Sanofi-Aventis U.S. v. HHS et al. Cases raising similar legal questions are pending in the District of Columbia and 7th Circuits.

A pro-Russian hacktivist group known for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against countries supporting Ukraine on Jan. 28 allegedly released attack lists for hospitals and medical organizations in several countries, HHS alerted the sector.

This year I’ll be continuing the AHA Leadership Dialogue series and talking with health care, business and community leaders on trending topics in the field.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday approved the first Medicaid demonstration to provide a limited set of health care services to justice-involved individuals before they are released.

States, territories, health facilities and tribal organizations can apply through March 27 for up to $525,000 million each for residential treatment programs to provide comprehensive services for pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorders, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced.

Kaiser Permanente, an integrated health care provider based in California, yesterday committed $25 million over five years to expand its recently established center to prevent gun injuries and death through care innovation, research, education and partnership.

CMS released new guidance and FAQs outlining the requirements and process for eligible rural and critical access hospitals interested in converting to a Rural Emergency Hospital, a new Medicare provider type effective Jan. 1.

Beginning March 20, OSHA may in certain cases cite for penalty each instance an employer violates certain standards, including for respiratory protection, the agency said in guidance yesterday to its regional administrators. 

The FDA is signaling a major shift in federal policy on who may donate blood, proposing guidelines that would eliminate the existing time-based blood donation deferrals for men who have sex with men and women who have sex with those individuals.

Today marks three full years that the COVID-19 public health emergency has existed in the United States.

Between Oct. 10, 2022, and Jan. 8, 2023, nursing home residents who were not up to date with the recommended COVID-19 vaccinations had a 30%-50% higher risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection than residents who were up to date, according to a study released by the CDC.

The AHA is offering a new set of social messages and assets for February to encourage the public to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.

AHA submitted comments on how the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality can best support the field in advancing patient safety through an action alliance, which the agency is launching in partnership with health care systems and patient safety advocates

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee unanimously voted today to recommend harmonizing the composition of all primary series and booster doses administered in the U.S

The FBI seized control of servers and websites used by the Hive ransomware network to target hospitals and other critical infrastructure, and infiltrated the network in July to provide decryption keys to victims and prevent $130 million in ransom payments, the Justice Department announced.

The Royal and Blackcat ransomware groups continue to aggressively target the U.S. health sector, according to a recent advisory from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy today named Kate Walsh, president and CEO of Boston Medical Center Health System, as the state’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.

National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Micky Tripathi talks with AHA’s Nancy Foster about what his office is doing to help achieve a health information system that can share data across care providers while protecting confidential health records from cybercriminals.

Over 16.3 million people selected a 2023 health plan through the Health Insurance Marketplaces Nov. 1 through Jan. 15, 1.8 million more than this time last year.