News

To continue emphasizing the message of protecting against both the flu and COVID-19, AHA’s Wear A Mask and United Against the Flu campaigns released new resources, including new sample social media messages and graphics that hospitals and health systems can use to reiterate the importance of getting a flu shot, wearing a mask and practicing good hygiene.

The AHA released the latest edition of a new report for Congress to better understand the needs of hospitals and health systems during the public health emergency.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has identified the Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System codes and Medicare Part B payment allowances effective Nov. 21 for administering casirivimab and imdevimab, a combination monoclonal antibody therapy made by Regeneron.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency alerted organizations to a global phishing and spearphishing campaign targeting the COVID-19 vaccine cold chain, the part of the supply chain used to store and transport a vaccine at safe temperatures.

The Department of Health and Human Services amended its declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to expand access to COVID-19 medical countermeasures through telehealth and clarify the scope of liability protections.

Two hundred twenty-four. That’s the number of days since the last COVID-19 relief package was signed into law.

To care for patients with opioid use disorder, a multidisciplinary team at Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas, initiates treatment and recovery using buprenorphine, then helps transition follow-up care to an outpatient clinic.

A new AHA case study highlights examples of capitated payment agreements that serve to increase the use and improve the quality of primary care services in rural communities.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the Geographic Direct Contracting Model (known as “Geo”) through which participants will take responsibility for the total cost of care for a portion of all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries in a specific region.

Tom Nickels, AHA executive vice president for government relations and public policy, will retire from the association next April after a long and exceptional career in the association and political world, AHA announced. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the calendar year 2021 outpatient prospective payment system/ambulatory surgical center final rule.

Claire Zangerle, R.N., chief nurse executive at Allegheny Health Network, today joined AHA Board Chair Melinda Estes, M.D., to discuss how hospitals can support their workforce as they move from relief, recovery, and rebuilding to reimagining and innovation.

AHA’s The Value Initiative is providing new resources to support hospitals’ and health systems’ efforts to adopt hospital-at-home care for patients who need acute-level care but are considered stable enough to be safely monitored from their homes.

The FDA this week revised and reissued its August emergency use authorization for COVID-19 convalescent plasma to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The revised EUA adds the Mount Sinai COVID-19 ELISA IgG Antibody Test as an acceptable test for qualifying high and low titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma.

AHA speaks with two companies using the HealthEquip app to connect individuals and organizations with personal protective equipment to hospitals that need it through AHA’s 100 Million Mask Challenge.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the calendar year 2021 outpatient prospective payment system/ambulatory surgical center final rule. 

The AHA launched a new periodic report to convey to congressional staff hospitals’ and health systems’ desperate need for a new COVID-19 relief package.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced shorter quarantine options based on local circumstances and resources, for people exposed to the COVID-19 virus.

Reps. Bradley Schneider, D-Ill., and David McKinley, R-W.Va., introduced the Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act, AHA-supported legislation that would extend the moratorium on the Medicare sequester cuts through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commercial health plans are using prior authorization and payment delays and denials to make it more difficult for some Americans to access the care they need, creating an extensive approval process that wastes billions of dollars and contributes to clinician burnout, according to a report released by the AHA.