News

The Department of Health and Human Services today renewed the nation’s monkeypox public health emergency declaration for another 90 days. When the PHE was announced in August, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., said the declaration would provide access to resources and flexibilities, expedite state data sharing, and provide more detailed data on testing and hospitalizations.

U.S. hospitals and health systems in September experienced their ninth consecutive month of negative operating margins, according to the report released yesterday by Kaufman Hall. Median operating margins were down 46% in September compared to a year ago, driven by declining revenues and discharges as sicker patients and labor shortages in post-acute care increased average length of stay, according to data from over 900 hospitals.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released a report confirming deceptive marketing practices by Medicare Advantage plans, which found an increase in complaints from 2020 to 2021. The report recommends the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reinstate certain MA plan requirements and hold bad actors accountable; require agents and brokers to adhere to best practices; implement robust MA marketing rules; and support unbiased beneficiary information sources.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today released updated guidelines for clinicians prescribing opioids to outpatients for short- or long-term pain, which replace guidelines released in 2016.

Responding this week to House members asking how Congress could improve physician payment under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, the AHA encouraged statutory and regulatory efforts to advance and flexibly implement value-based and alternative payment models.

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency encourages OpenSSL users and administrators to upgrade to version 3.0.7 to patch two high-severity vulnerabilities that threat actors could leverage to crash or take control of a computer system.

The FDA revised its emergency use authorizations for all COVID-19 antigen tests to authorize serial testing and require updates to product labeling regarding serial testing, and designated the recall of 60,500 filters used in breathing systems a Class I recall.

AHA today released a new report and infographic showing how some commercial health insurers, including Medicare Advantage plans, can cause dangerous delays in care, undue burden on the health care workforce, and add billions of dollars in unnecessary costs to the health care system

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services late today posted a final rule on its website that will increase Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system rates by a net 3.8% in calendar year 2023 compared to 2022. This update is based on a market basket percentage increase of 4.1%, reduced by 0.3 percentage points for productivity.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today released on its website its calendar year 2023 final rule for the physician fee schedule. The rule will cut the conversion factor to $33.06 in CY 2023 from $34.61 in CY 2022, which reflects the expiration of the temporary 3% statutory payment increase; a 0.00% conversion factor update; and a budget-neutrality adjustment.

Commenting today on a proposed rule to streamline Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program eligibility and enrollment, AHA voiced support for proposals that would facilitate and promote enrollment and eliminate coverage disruptions.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today approved through 2026 an amended Medicaid demonstration for Arkansas that adds innovative approaches to help eligible enrollees address health-related social needs, such as housing and food insecurity. The amendment will cover care coordination and other supports for individuals with high-risk pregnancies, rural residents with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders, and young adults at risk for long-term poverty and poor health outcomes.

Now through Jan. 15, individuals and families can enroll in or change their health coverage options through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expects four out of five consumers to find plans for $10 or less per month after tax credits.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights yesterday released a video on recognized security practices under the HIPAA security rule and how covered entities may demonstrate implementation.

The departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury yesterday released guidance on the federal independent dispute resolution process for certified IDR entities and disputing parties under the No Surprises Act regulations, and calendar year 2023 IDR fees. For CY 2023, IDR administrative fees will be $50 for each disputing party and certified IDR entities may charge $200-$700 for single determinations and $268-$938 for batched determinations.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today issued its calendar year 2023 final rule for the home health prospective payment system, which would increase HH payments by a net 0.7%, or $125 million, in calendar year 2023 relative to CY 2022.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center highly recommends all health sector organizations immediately test and deploy a critical OpenSSL patch when it becomes available Nov. 1, because many of the most common operating systems and applications use the OpenSSL software library for secure communications.

The AHA’s Association for the Health Care Environment professional membership group has elected two members to three-year terms on its advisory board beginning Jan. 1: Tom Mattice, senior director of environmental services at Montefiore Nyack (N.Y.) Hospital; and Sade' Rolon, associate vice president of environmental services at ProMedica Health System in Toledo, Ohio.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Friday finalized a rule updating Medicare enrollment and eligibility rules to strengthen coverage and ease enrollment, as required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. AHA expressed support for the updates in an April letter to the agency.

On this episode, I talk with Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. Conroy also is the Chair-elect Designate of the AHA Board of Trustees.