News

The Department of Health and Human Services should provide projected time frames for its planned spending of COVID-19 relief funds, including the Provider Relief Fund, to ensure accountability for these funds, the Government Accountability Office said in a report. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a national stakeholders call July 22 at 3:30 p.m. ET on the interim final rule, Surprise Billing Part 1, that implements aspects of the No Surprises Act that bans balance billing in certain out-of-network scenarios.

On this episode, I have an important conversation with Robert Trestman, M.D., chair for psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Carilion Clinic and a professor at the Viriginia Tech/Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke, Va.

The Health Resources and Services Administration Provider Relief Fund reporting portal remains open for providers to begin reporting to the government that they used federal emergency relief funds for health care-related expenses or lost revenues attributable to COVID-19.

The number of heat-related emergency department visits in the Northwest region surged June 25-30, when most of Oregon and Washington were under a National Weather Service excessive heat warning, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The White House announced an interagency task force and other initiatives to protect U.S. organizations from ransomware attacks. The task force has been coordinating federal efforts to improve the nation’s cybersecurity as directed by the president in April.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Texas Department of State Health Services yesterday confirmed a case of human monkeypox in a U.S. resident who recently traveled from Nigeria to the United States, CDC announced.

Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine will receive a priority review from the Food and Drug Administration, indicating that Pfizer has completed its rolling submission of its application for the vaccine’s full authorization.

Health care organizations can apply through Aug. 30 for a portion of $29.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to support or expand evidence-informed programs or protocols to promote an organizational culture of wellness, resilience and mental health among their employees, the Health Resources and Services Administration announced. 

The AHA told Senate leaders it strongly opposes proposals to rescind emergency funds from the Provider Relief Fund to offset the costs of an infrastructure proposal. 

COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Black, Latino, Native Americans and other communities of color is well-documented and deeply troubling. It’s also the latest in a long history of health inequities and health disparities affecting racial minorities in our society. 

Today, UnitedHealth Group announced a jaw-dropping $6 billion in earnings in a single quarter, but not enough has been said about a big contributor to these profits: not paying for health care services, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack writes in a blog post.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched a television and digital campaign to encourage uninsured Americans to enroll in health coverage through the federally facilitated marketplace before the special enrollment period ends Aug. 15.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released recommendations and guidance for treating plague, which has a high fatality rate if untreated but is treatable with antimicrobial and supportive care.

Initial gun injuries cost hospitals more than $1 billion a year, with costs related to physician fees adding an additional 20% to that number, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The Food and Drug Administration revoked its emergency use authorization for the Curative SARS-Cov-2 Assay test because the manufacturer has transitioned to using other authorized tests for testing offered at its laboratories. 

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health voted to advance to the full committee a number of AHA-supported bills focused on maternal health and social determinants of health.

The House Appropriations Committee voted 33-25 to approve legislation that would provide $253.8 billion in funding for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal year 2022, a 28% increase over the prior fiscal year.

In a letter sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, AHA expressed its continued concerns about audit determinations denying hospitals a “mid-build exception” to the site-neutral payment policy and urged the agency to extend by at least 180 days the July 18 and Sept. 16 deadlines for hospitals to identify and return, respectively, any overpayments.

Congress should not extend Medicare sequestration to help pay for the bipartisan infrastructure framework because health care providers cannot sustain additional Medicare cuts and Medicare funds should not be used to pay for non-health care programs, the AHA, American Medical Association, American Health Care Association, National Association for Home Care & Hospice, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and Association for Clinical Oncology told Senate leaders in a letter.