News

As hospital and health system clinicians and staff continue to take on the COVID-19 pandemic, they are experiencing stress and anxiety at a new level. To mark Stress Awareness Month, the AHA reminds those in the health care workforce of the many resources available during this tumultuous time.

Jim Prister, president and CEO of RML Specialty Hospital in Chicago, AHA Board of Member and chair of the AHA’s post-acute care steering committee, and John Votto, D.O., a pulmonologist and former CEO of the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain, Conn., discuss the experiences of individuals who no longer have the active COVID-19 virus, but still have complex symptoms caused by it

Medicare patients who receive care in a hospital outpatient department are more likely to be poorer and have more severe chronic conditions than Medicare patients treated in an independent physician office, according to a study released by the AHA.

The House of Representatives voted 384-38 to pass a bill that, among other health care provisions, would eliminate the 2% across-the-board cut to all Medicare payments, known as sequestration, until the end of 2021.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices holds an emergency meeting on the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine to review reports that six women aged 18-48 experienced a rare but serious condition involving blood clots and low platelets after receiving the vaccine. 

A recent article in American Economic Review provides an “outdated and recycled take” on the effect of hospital consolidation on wages, writes AHA General Counsel Melinda Hatton.

The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing launched a grassroots and digital advertising campaign urging policymakers to lower prescription drug prices.

Fourteen organizations, including the AHA, urged the Department of Health and Human Services to extend the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model through 2022, and create a permanent full-risk ACO option based on it for the future.

Hackensack Meridian Health’s clinical experts have learned a wide variety of important lessons and strategies for managing COVID-19’s toll on mental health, write three of the health system’s leaders.

As National Hospital Week (May 9-15) approaches with the theme Inspiring Hope through Healing, the AHA would like to honor the entire community of hospital and health system team members for all of their work.

The monoclonal antibody therapy REGEN-COV (casirivimab with imdevimab) reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 in household contacts of people with SARS-CoV-2 by 81% in a phase 3 clinical trial conducted with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced.

The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention jointly recommended a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, following six reported cases of rare but severe types of blood clots following the vaccine’s administration.

As part of its recognition of Black Maternal Health Week (April 11-17), the Department of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved a Section 1115 waiver for Illinois to be the first state to extend full Medicaid coverage to pregnant women for up to one year after delivery.

AHA and the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Health-ISAC), a non-profit member organization for sharing cyber threat intelligence and best practices, released a joint white paper to help senior health care leaders understand and respond to certain cyber risks to their enterprise networks.

Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., introduced The Resetting the Impact Act (TRIA) of 2021, AHA-supported legislation that takes into account unforeseen changes since the 2014 implementation of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act to reflect 2021 considerations.

AHA’s Physician Alliance is holding a webinar April 15 at 2 p.m. ET to explore how understanding human factors can help leaders and clinical teams connect and advance patient safety together.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will no longer waive certain requirements for long-term care and skilled nursing facilities beginning May 9 or 10, according to updated guidance released.

One legacy of our response to COVID-19 surely will be how it has accelerated the adoption of virtual care. It is one of the more encouraging developments during the losses of the pandemic. 

Pfizer said it is seeking an amended emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine, requesting that the Food and Drug Administration allow its use for individuals between 12 and 15 years old.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has selected 61 applicants for the Value in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Demonstration, a four-year Medicare payment model beginning this month for selected health care providers who agree to participate.