News

The Food and Drug Administration today recommended health care providers transition away from using disposable respirators not approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, including imported respirators such as KN95s, based on the increased domestic supply of new NIOSH-approved respirators.

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday authorized for emergency use a new monoclonal antibody therapy, Sotrovimab, for outpatients at risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 disease.

AHA yesterday voiced support for bipartisan legislation that would add 1,000 Medicare-funded hospital residency positions in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry or pain medicine, with 500 slots reserved for hospitals with existing programs in these specialties and 500 for hospitals creating new programs.

A bipartisan group of senators and representatives this week reintroduced AHA-supported legislation to improve and extend the Conrad State 30 program, which allows states to request J-1 visa waivers for up to 30 foreign physicians per year to work in federally designated shortage and underserved areas. The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act would extend the program for three additional years, increase state allocations to 35 physicians per year and provide flexibility to expand the number of waivers in states where demand exceeds that limit.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., today announced plans to draft legislation to create a federally administered public option for health coverage and sought input on related questions until July 31. 

Nancy Maldonado, CEO of the San Diego-based Chicano Federation (an affiliate member with AHA’s strategic partner UnidosUS), shares how the organization provided critical leadership within the San Diego community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center, through its SOAR to Health and Wellness Training Program, invites organizations to form teams for a free, six-week training opportunity and technical assistance package to strengthen your organization’s substance use treatment and referral system for survivors of human trafficking.

Reliance on digital tools can exacerbate barriers to care among certain populations and may be less accessible to people with limited English proficiency. As these technologies become ubiquitous, now is the time to examine digital health from an equity lens to ensure that no community is left behind.

The Uber app is offering up to $25 off each ride to and from an eligible vaccination site between May 24 and July 4, for up to two round-trips rides spaced three weeks apart, the company announced yesterday.

Moderna said it will submit its data to the Food and Drug Administration in early June as part of a requested expansion of its emergency use authorization to include teens and adolescents.

The Senate today voted 55-44 to confirm Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to serve as Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator.

Medical Action Industries Inc. has recalled more than 8,000 medical convenience kits due to fungal contamination risk from an applicator used to sanitize skin prior to wound care, catheter procedures and blood collection

The Health Resources and Services Administration will use $4.8 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act to reimburse health care providers for testing uninsured individuals for COVID-19 through its COVID-19 Uninsured Program, the Department of Health and Human Services announced today.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions today passed, as amended, three AHA-supported bills to improve maternal health and support front-line health care workers. 

Priya Bathija, AHA’s vice president of strategic initiatives, discusses efforts to better serve the nation’s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, who have endured particular hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Responding to a New York Times article about hospital finances and COVID-19 relief, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said the article "tells a misleading story” about COVID-19 funding for hospitals and health systems and the “lifeline” integration was able to offer hospitals struggling to navigate the pandemic.  

The Food and Drug Administration reminded health care providers to give patients who self-collect anterior nasal samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing in health care settings step-by-step instructions.

The AHA urged the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to prioritize certain actions and programs that support the nation’s health care workforce needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.

Tomorrow, May 25, marks the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. His death shined a spotlight on the systemic racism and inequities in many aspects of our society. These include inequities in health and health care. 

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended screening adults without symptoms or other risks for colorectal cancer starting at age 45. The panel has long recommended screening adults aged 50-75, but about one-quarter in this age group remain unscreened.