News

The AHA and seven other national organizations representing hospitals Nov. 29 voiced strong support for a Medicaid managed care proposal to establish the Average Commercial Rate as the upper payment limit for inpatient and outpatient hospital services in the context of state directed payments, but urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services not to move forward with proposed restrictions on states’ use of provider-based funding sources such as provider taxes to finance Medicaid payments.

A bipartisan group of House members Nov. 28 introduced AHA-supported legislation that would prohibit health insurers from charging fees for standard electronic fund transfers to pay health care providers for services.

The AHA’s American Society for Health Care Engineering recently received a MarCom Gold Award for excellence in marketing and communication for its Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference, the new name and brand for its annual conference.

AHA’s latest social media toolkit for encouraging vaccination against the flu and COVID-19 focuses on handwashing and winter- and family-themed messages.

In the latest episode in AHA’s three-part series on maternal health, Tiffany Moore Simas, M.D., chair of obstetrics and gynecology at UMass Memorial, discusses the concerning prevalence of perinatal depression, and the options available to provide moms with a lifeline.

Health Services Research, the flagship publication of AHA’s Health Research & Educational Trust, Nov. 28 released with support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality a special edition focused on health equity.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Nov. 28 awarded $80.5 million to support comparative clinical effectiveness studies on the health care and social factors that contribute to inequities in maternal morbidity and mortality.

In response to recent court decisions that set aside certain regulations implementing the No Surprises Act’s Independent Dispute Resolution process, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nov. 28 released FAQs explaining how certified IDR entities may determine whether a dispute is appropriately batched and clarifying certain other provisions and its policy for extending existing IDR deadlines once the federal IDR portal reopens to all batched disputes and single disputes involving air ambulance services.

Nearly 4.6 million people selected a 2024 health plan through the federally facilitated and state-based marketplaces Nov. 1-18, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported last week.

President Biden will issue a determination that gives the Department of Health and Human Services broader authority to invest in domestic manufacturing of essential medicines and medical countermeasures under Title III of the Defense Production Act, the White House announced Nov. 27 as it convened the first meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience.

The risk of not-for-profit hospitals and health systems violating bond covenants has eased for 2024, but remains heightened, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service.

AHA Nov. 27 applauded the Assistance for Rural Community Hospitals Act (H.R. 6430), legislation that would extend for five additional years the Medicare-dependent Hospital program and enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment.

The AHA recently released the 2024 Health Care Workforce Scan, which identifies and shares strategies and resources that support hospital and health system teams.

In the latest episode in AHA’s three-part series on maternal health, Tiffany Moore Simas, M.D., chair of obstetrics and gynecology at UMass Memorial, discusses the concerning prevalence of perinatal depression, and the options available to provide moms with a lifeline.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center and international partners are alerting health care and other critical infrastructure organizations of the threat of LockBit 3.0 ransomware, labeled "Citrix Bleed," which allows cyberthreat actors to bypass password requirements and multifactor authentication measures.

AHA Nov. 20 filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others claiming the National Labor Relations Board’s new rule for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act violates the Administrative Procedure Act.

Four clinicians from Henry Ford Health System discuss how its collaborative care program, that for the first time integrated primary care with behavioral health, has helped meet the need of patients.

The Food and Drug Administration on Nov. 16 announced a new report from government contractor MITRE, Next Steps Toward Managing Legacy Medical Device Cybersecurity Risks.

The AHA Nov. 20 released its Health Care Plan Accountability Update, covering the latest developments in Medicare Advantage, legislation and regulation of private health insurers, as well as webinars and other resources from the last quarter.

Certain Medicare Advantage organizations have issued policies for the coming year that AHA believes do not fully adhere to requirements in the MA final rule for calendar year 2024, the association alerted the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nov. 20.