News

The AHA urged the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to adopt a unified set of guidelines to account for the variables associated with all issues of the eventual allocation of COVID-19 vaccine allocation.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule for the long-term care hospital prospective payment system for fiscal year 2021. Under the rule, net payments for LTCHs will decrease by 1.1% (-$40 million) relative to FY 2020 payments.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule that will increase Medicare inpatient prospective payment system rates by a net 2.9% in fiscal year 2021, compared to FY 2020, for hospitals that are meaningful users of electronic health records and submit quality measure data.

The AHA, joined by the Association of American Medical Colleges and several member hospitals, asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to rehear a July 17 decision by a three-judge panel that upheld the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services to reduce payments for hospital outpatient services furnished in off-campus provider-based departments grandfathered under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today released for public comment a discussion draft of a preliminary framework to assist policymakers in planning for equitable allocation of a vaccine against COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration further expanded the authorized use of remdesivir for treating COVID-19 patients, the agency announced. Now, remdesivir can be used for all admitted COVID-19 patients, confirmed or suspected, whether on oxygen, off oxygen or intubated.

Two new case studies highlight how hospitals and health systems are customizing care for older adult patients.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released shows an increase between 2018 and 2019 in rates of suspected nonfatal drug overdoses involving opioids, cocaine and amphetamines, and of polydrug overdoses co-involving opioids and amphetamines that were treated in the emergency department.

State Opioid Response and Tribal Opioid Response grant programs are receiving the first of two rounds of funds totaling $1.5 billion, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced.

Clinicians who may see patients from areas affected by Hurricane Laura should maintain a high level of suspicion for carbon monoxide poisoning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance.

The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., should overturn a lower court ruling upholding a Department of Health and Human Services final rule requiring hospitals to disclose the rates they agree to accept from insurers, the AHA told the court , joined by the Association of American Medical Colleges, Children's Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals and several member hospitals.

Those with intellectual and developmental disabilities who require in-person care, including in-classroom settings, are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the directors of the National Institutes of Health-funded Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers Network said in an American Journal of Psychiatry article.

The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced $17 million in grants to establish the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases, which will support multidisciplinary investigations into how and where viruses and other pathogens emerge from wildlife and spillover to cause disease in people.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention credited universal testing of residents and staff of all 123 West Virginia nursing homes for SARS-CoV-2, irrespective of symptoms, as a key factor for limiting COVID-19 transmissions and reducing the pandemic’s impact on the state’s vulnerable populations.

Threatening to expel hospitals from the Medicare and Medicaid programs if they don’t report COVID-19 data to the federal government, which was outlined in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services interim final rule released this week, “is ridiculous and should be rescinded,” according to a Washington Times editorial.

If you missed the Aug. 27 livestream, you can watch a replay of the latest episode of Leadership Rounds – short conversations on a range of key issues AHA Board Chair Melinda Estes, M.D., is having with hospital and health system leaders from across the country.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced a contract award to Abbott for the delivery of 150 million rapid Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Point of Care SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests.

The Department of Health and Human Services yesterday released its COVID-19 Workforce Virtual Toolkit, which includes updated resources for hospitals.

AHA Today will not publish the week of Aug. 31. After tomorrow's newsletter, the next edition of AHA Today will be Sept. 8. AHA members will continue to receive information on breaking news or important updates.