News

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration are investigating adverse effects in 22 people in 11 states who received botulinum toxin injections that were counterfeit or administered in non-healthcare settings or by unlicensed or untrained individuals.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services April 22 finalized rules intended to improve access in both the Medicaid fee-for-service and managed care programs.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services April 22 finalized minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes that participate in Medicare and Medicaid.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology April 22 released

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights April 19 launched a webpage answering HIPAA-related FAQs about the Change Healthcare cyberattack.

Commenting last week on a discussion draft of the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, which would extend the hospital-at-home program through 2027, AHA thanked the sponsors for their ongoing work to extend this innovative program and voiced support for its continuance.

The Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights April 22 released a final rule prohibiting entities regulated by the HIPAA Privacy Rule from using or disclosing protected health information to investigate or prosecute patients, providers or others involved in providing legal reproductive health services.

The AHA has developed a sustainability roadmap for health care. This roadmap provides excellent resources and strategic guidance for hospitals and health systems that are adopting practices to support the environment and their communities.

Stand up. Speak out. Be heard. The stakes for the future of health care are too high to do anything less.

U.S.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services April 19 approved an amendment to a Massachusetts Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program demonstration to add health-related social needs services; expand Marketplace subsidies and cost-sharing assistance; provide pre-release services to eligible incarcerated beneficiaries; and expand continuous eligibility to 24 months for older adults experiencing homelessness and 12 months for other adults.

In clinical trials involving 220,000 patients at 59 HCA Healthcare hospitals, algorithm-driven computerized alerts helped clinicians better identify the appropriate antibiotic for 28% of patients with pneumonia and 17% of patients with urinary tract infections, according to studies funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published April 19 in JAMA.

Racial and ethnic health disparities persist across the United States, even in states with otherwise high-performing health systems, according to the latest Commonwealth Fund report evaluating states based on certain health and health care access measures.

Patients went out-of-network 3.5 times more often to see a behavioral health clinician than a medical/surgical clinician in 2021, and up to 20 times more often for certain behavioral health visits, according to a new study by RTI International.

The Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department and Department of Health and Human Services April 18 launched HealthyCompetition.gov, an online portal for the public to report potentially unfair and anticompetitive health care practices.

The Department of Health and Human Services April 18 finalized its rule to establish a 340B Administrative Dispute Resolution process as required under the Affordable Care Act.

Mary Marran, president and CEO of Butler Hospital, describes how the enhanced partnership between the two mental health service providers in Rhode Island has made a big difference in coordinating services and resources for their patients.

At its Annual Membership Meeting this week in Washington, D.C., AHA presented two federal hospital leaders with 2023 awards recognizing their outstanding service to the health care field.

“Imagine if the government required health insurance and drug companies to account for every dollar they spent, audit those data, and publicly report those numbers,” write AHA’s Bharath Krishnamurthy, director of health analytics and policy, and Aaron Wesolowski, vice president of research strategy and policy communications.

In a statement submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for a hearing April 17 on President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 Health and Human Services’ budget request, AHA expressed concern about proposed new penalties for hospitals and health systems that do not meet what the Administration defines as essential cybersecurity practices.