News

Nancy Myers, AHA vice president of leadership and system innovation, talks with Mikelle Moore, senior vice president and chief community health officer at Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare, about community health improvement during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hospital and community collaborations drive meaningful change to meet basic human needs, improve care and advance innovation, writes AHA Board Chair Rod Hochman, M.D., president and CEO of Providence, in an op-ed published today in Modern Healthcare.

The Food and Drug Administration warned health care providers and the public not to use an antigen test for COVID-19 made by Innova Medical Group and distributed under several names.

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $100,000 each to more than 4,200 rural health clinics to maintain and increase COVID-19 testing; expand access to testing for rural residents; and broaden efforts to mitigate COVID-19’s spread in ways tailored to their local communities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking jurisdictions to distribute portions of their COVID-19 vaccine allocations to enable administration at hospitals, emergency departments and urgent care facilities following patients’ discharge.

As urged by the AHA and other groups, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it is extending the deadline by which hospitals and other providers that received Provider Relief Fund money after June 30, 2020, must use their COVID-19 PRF payments.

The Healthcare and Public Health Sector Coordinating Council, whose members include the AHA, urged President Biden to include support for health care cybersecurity in a future phase of his infrastructure plan.

The AHA’s opposition to UnitedHealthcare’s now-delayed policy on emergency coverage was picked up by the media and was mentioned in numerous publications, including The New York Times, USA Today, Modern Healthcare, Minneapolis Star Tribune, as well as a local TV interview with AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack on Minneapolis’ KARE 11 News, where UnitedHealthcare is headquartered.

Just days ago, UnitedHealthcare announced a new policy that threatened to deny some patient claims for emergency services starting July 1 if the insurer determined that the patient didn’t need emergency-level care.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued an emergency temporary standard for occupational exposure to COVID-19 that requires certain health care employers to help protect their workers in settings where suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients are treated.

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded 56 organizations $22 million in grants to train graduate-level students of social work, psychology, and other behavioral and mental health disciplines to work with youth and other vulnerable populations at risk for behavioral health disorders through the Behavioral Health Workforce and Education Training Program for Professionals.

Johnson & Johnson said the Food and Drug Administration agreed to extend the expiration date for its COVID-19 vaccine by six weeks.

After concerns raised by the AHA and other health groups, UnitedHealthcare delayed plans to deny coverage for emergency department claims the insurer deems non-emergent. The policy was to take effect July 1.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Grand Rapids, Mich-based Spectrum Health used the full scope of its resources to enable easy vaccine access, keep its communities informed, maintain and expand access in ZIP codes bearing the brunt of infections, and fuel innovation.

The National Urban League, a strategic partner of AHA, June 15-16 is hosting its annual Legislative Policy Conference as a free virtual event.

Health care providers participating in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program must administer the vaccines at no cost to recipients, the Department of Health and Human Services reminded providers and health plans in a letter.

The departments of Health and Human Services and Defense will purchase 1.7 million treatment courses of an investigational antiviral drug for $1.2 billion if the Food and Drug Administration approves or authorizes the therapy, the Biden administration announced.

Medicare will pay about $75 per dose to administer COVID-19 vaccines in a Medicare beneficiary’s home, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

AHA urged UnitedHealthcare to reverse its decision to retroactively deny coverage effective July 1 for emergency department claims the insurer deems non-emergent.

Compared with the pre-vaccination period of Nov. 29 to Dec. 12, 2020, COVID-19 incidence during April 18 to May 1, 2021, was 69% lower among adults overall, and 79%, 71% and 66% lower among persons aged 65 and over, 50-64 and 18-49, respectively, according to a report released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.