News

The Food and Drug Administration has updated and reissued its April 18 emergency use authorization on face masks for the general public to clarify that non-surgical face masks are not intended for use by health care personnel as personal protective equipment, meaning they are not a substitute for respirator or surgical masks.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded $450 million in grants, including $250 million in emergency COVID-19 funding, to expand access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment services through certified community behavioral health clinics.

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued interim guidance on the reuse and decontamination of N95 and other filtering-facepiece respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A coalition of more than 30 groups led by the AHA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and America’s Health Insurance Plans urged Congress to take swift action to protect Americans’ health care coverage in its response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Trump administration put forward a series of guidelines for testing and rapid response programs in anticipation of reopening the nation’s economy.

The Food and Drug Administration April 24 reminded health care providers of the need to closely monitor patients for serious and potentially life-threatening side effects of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine when used off-label to treat COVID-19.

The Affordable Care Act requires the federal government to pay insurers the full amount of their losses under the temporary Risk Corridors Program and insurers who claim losses under the program may sue in federal claims court to recover damages for unpaid amounts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.

The AHA has been featured in numerous media publications, including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Politico and Modern Healthcare, for various COVID-19 content.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced a six-month delay in implementation of its Innovation Center Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) Model, due to COVID-19.

More than half of U.S. adults aged 70 and older have experienced a disruption in their medical care during the first month of social distancing for COVID-19, according to a new survey by NORC at the University of Chicago, the SCAN Foundation and John A. Hartford Foundation.

The U.S. Postal Service released a temporary final rule updating its Hazardous, Restricted and Perishable Mail regulations for Category B infectious substances “to support the rapid deployment” of COVID-19 diagnostic tests through the mail during the public health emergency.

CMS last week updated its

The Small Business Administration and Department of the Treasury announced that SBA is now accepting and processing Paycheck Protection Program loan applications.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services April 26 announced it is reevaluating the amounts that will be paid under its Accelerated Payment Program and suspending its Advance Payment Program effective immediately.

Health care providers are eligible for reimbursement from the federal government for COVID-19 testing, treatment and related services provided to the uninsured.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week released a new tool for estimating surges in demand for hospital-based services related to COVID-19.

Like the COVID-19 pandemic itself, access to protective gear for front-line health care workers is unevenly spread throughout the country. Some hospitals and health systems have adequate supplies of masks, gowns, gloves and other personal protective equipment on hand, while others have much more critical needs. 

AHA supports extending the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model for an additional three years, but only on a voluntary basis, the association told the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in comments submitted.

The Food and Drug Administration issued guidance allowing patients to use certain non-invasive fetal and maternal monitoring devices in the home during the COVID-19 emergency to reduce the need for in-clinic visits.