News

Effective Feb. 1, physicians and other health care providers and suppliers should use new National Uniform Billing Committee condition codes on claims for COVID-19 and other treatments authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use or expanded access, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

The Food and Drug Administration released enforcement policy guidance for health care providers and others using dry heat systems to reduce bioburden on certain N95 and other respirators in limited supply to support reuse by health care personnel during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

As part of the generosity movement known as Giving Tuesday, this year held on Dec. 1, AHA is partnering with the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy and The Creative Coalition to encourage donations to Protect the Heroes.

Following analysis of additional primary efficacy data for its mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Moderna Inc. said it will apply for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

The AHA’s 2021 Environmental Scan is a useful resource for looking ahead. It provides key data and insights on the current operational landscape and is designed to help leaders maneuver the rough road ahead.

More than 2.3 million people selected a 2021 health plan through HealthCare.gov Nov. 1-21, including nearly 760,000 last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced. About 75%

Parkland Hospital & Health System uses social determinants of health data to guide its efforts to reduce incidents of breast cancer in women who are economically vulnerable and experience challenges accessing care.

The AHA recently partnered with Shatterproof, a national nonprofit dedicated to reversing the U.S. addiction crisis, to develop materials for clinicians to tackle the stigma of opioid use disorder.

In a study of 156 front-line hospital workers who tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, 94% had lower antibody levels 60 days later, including 28% whose antibodies fell below the threshold for a positive test result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule amending the Department of Health and Human Services’ Risk Adjustment Data Validation program, which validates the data that health insurers submit to HHS to determine risk adjustments based on the individuals they enroll.

Over the next several months, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases expects to enroll up to 1,500 adult COVID-19 hospital patients who require supplemental oxygen in a global clinical trial that aims to determine whether baricitinib or dexamethasone is more effective at preventing mechanical ventilation or death when administered with remdesivir.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has assigned Medicare Severity-Diagnosis-Related Groups to six new ICD-10 diagnosis codes for reporting conditions related to COVID-19 on medical claims effective Jan. 1.

The Department of Health and Human Services seeks comments for 30 days from health care providers and other stakeholders on the need to make permanent any regulatory flexibilities the agency has implemented in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

As urged by the AHA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gave hospitals facing a surge in COVID-19 patients expanded flexibility to care for Medicare patients outside their walls.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule revising the requirements for organ procurement organizations that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as required by an executive order last year.

A new AHA TrendWatch report examines teaching hospitals’ impact on a transforming health care landscape.

The Food and Drug Administration approved using the antiviral treatment Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil) to prevent flu in patients age 12 or older who have been exposed to someone with flu.

The Food and Drug Administration has posted a webpage with answers to frequently asked questions about face masks, surgical masks and respirators for COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommendations for COVID-19 testing before and after international air travel.

The departments of Health and Human Services and Defense announced an $11.6 million contract to domestically produce more nasal swabs for the Cue Health molecular testing system, which detects the COVID-19 virus in about 20 minutes at the point of care.