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The latest stories from AHA Today.
Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Friday introduced AHA-supported legislation (S. 607) that would extend the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration for five years. The program enables rural hospitals with fewer than 51 acute-care…
The AHA today urged the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve the Veterans Choice Program to address “roadblocks” to veterans’ access to care and broader participation by non-VA providers. “While we understand that the VA had an extraordinarily short timeframe in which…
A new report evaluating the effects of measures used in 25 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quality reporting programs from 2006 to 2013 “demonstrates that the nation has made clear progress in improving the health care delivery system to achieve the three aims of better care…
Fourteen group practices are receiving a 4.89% increase in their Medicare payments in 2015 based on their 2013 performance on quality and cost measures under the Physician Feedback/Value-Based Payment Modifier Program, and 11 are receiving a 0.5% or 1% decrease, the Centers for Medicare &…
Four national hospital rating systems for consumers vary widely in their results, according to a study reported today in Health Affairs. “No hospital was rated as a high performer by all four national rating systems,” the study found. “Only 10% of the 844 hospitals rated as a…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today launched the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network to provide a forum for public-private partnerships to help the U.S. health care payment system meet or exceed recently established Medicare goals for value-based payments…
The AHA today urged the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury to quickly address several sources of confusion in the Summary of Benefits and Coverage given to health plan enrollees. “The AHA recommends that the SBC glossary be revised to adopt standardized terms that…
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases today launched a clinical trial to obtain safety and efficacy data on the investigational drug ZMapp as a treatment for Ebola virus disease. The trial will enroll adults and children admitted to Ebola treatment units in Liberia, health…
The AHA’s Association for the Healthcare Environment is developing a certification curriculum for environmental services technicians that hospitals and other health care facilities can use to train their technicians. AHE will teach hospital and other health care personnel to conduct the…
Hospital outpatient departments treat sicker and poorer patients in need of more extensive care and resources than do physician offices, says a study released Feb. 26 and prepared for the AHA.