News

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Finance committees asked Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to clarify by June 10 the agency’s plan and timeline for disbursing COVID-19 emergency relief funds to Medicaid-dependent providers.

Maryland primary care practices and federally qualified health centers can apply through July 14 to participate in the state’s Total Cost of Care Model.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Food and Drug Administration updated guidance to spur wider availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $20.3 million to increase the number of fellows at accredited addiction medicine and addiction psychiatry fellowship programs.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services implemented several new infection control actions to combat COVID-19 in nursing homes.

The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, for which AHA is a founding member, launched a petition and digital ad urging drug companies to suspend their “traditional” summer price hikes, which last year averaged 13%, saying the industry is thriving while Americans are struggling financially.

The AHA asked the Department of Health and Human Services to distribute substantial additional emergency funds to hospitals and health systems in an expedited manner and using a phased approach.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule amending the Department of Health and Human Services’ Risk Adjustment Data Validation (HHS-RADV) program.

An estimated 9.5% of U.S. residents, or 30.7 million people, lacked health insurance when surveyed in the first six months of 2019, according to preliminary estimates from the National Health Interview Survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Food and Drug Administration took steps to encourage and streamline the development of COVID-19 tests whose specimens are collected at home by patients.

In a letter to the editor, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack responded to a New York Times article titled “Wealthiest Hospitals Got Billions in Bailout for Struggling Health Providers.”

The AHA is running ads in the Politico Pulse newsletter highlighting the unprecedented ways hospitals and health systems have stepped up to meet the challenges caused by COVID-19 while sustaining $50 billion in losses a month.

Regular surveys and reviews by The Joint Commission will resume this month, the commission announced.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a laboratory alert concerning the production of cyanide gas when molecular transport media is exposed to bleach.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced a $628 million agreement with Emergent BioSolutions to advance manufacturing capabilities and capacity for a potential COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutics as part of Operation Warp Speed.

The American Society for Health Care Engineering is supporting the ongoing efforts of hospital and health systems to fight COVID-19 in their communities by convening its 2020 Annual Conference & Technical Exhibition with a virtual participation option.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed a district court decision dismissing a False Claims Act lawsuit brought by data analysis company Integra Med Analytics against Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health for allegedly using inflated codes to bill Medicare.

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $15 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds to 52 tribal health services providers based on need and capacity to respond to COVID-19 in rural tribal communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot across the health care landscape, including how care teams communicate, interact and collaborate with others.