News

AHA General Counsel Melinda Hatton interviews Cate Stetson, acclaimed advocate and leader of the appellate practice at Hogan Lovells, about the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy and what it means for the legal challenges facing the Affordable Care Act and other legal cases that matter to hospitals and health systems.

The House approved by voice vote the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act, AHA-supported legislation that would repeal the antitrust exemption available to commercial health insurers for anticompetitive conduct.

The House of Representatives passed the Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act of 2019 (H.R. 4995), which would create new Public Health Service Act programs to improve maternal health.

Molly Smith, AHA vice president for coverage and state issues forum, participated in a panel discussion on reducing health care costs in the U.S. health care system without sacrificing quality, as part of The Atlantic Festival’s virtual event.

Nearly 30 representatives urged House leaders to modify in the next COVID-19 response package impending thresholds for qualifying participants in Advanced Alternative Payment Models, which they said threaten to “derail” the movement to value-based care under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 today surpassed 200,000, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.

The AHA is accepting applications through Nov. 23 for its 2021 Dick Davidson NOVA Award, which recognizes outstanding collaboration by hospitals and health systems for healthier communities.

The Health Resources and Services Administration released a final rule and notice expanding the types of expenses the National Living Donor Assistance Center will reimburse to include lost wages and child- and elder-care expenses for living donors who lack other forms of financial support.

The Food and Drug Administration reissued its emergency use authorization for the Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test to indicate that the product is intended for specimens collected “from individuals who are suspected of COVID-19 by their health care provider within the first seven days of the onset of symptoms.”

The Federal Reserve Board updated its FAQs on the Main Street Lending Program to clarify its expectations for nonprofit and other facilities regarding lender underwriting.

The AHA has launched a new webpage that houses AHA-developed tools, as well as resources from the federal government and other stakeholders related to a COVID-19 vaccine.

Today, we continue to grapple not only with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a dangerously polarized election, ongoing civil unrest in the face of untenable systemic racism … and now, 94 major wildfires that are devastating our West Coast neighbors, families and friends, as well as recent hurricanes that have brought new challenges to our colleagues in the South.

On this AHA podcast, Hyagriv Simhan, M.D., division chief of maternal fetal medicine, and Beth Quinn, program director of women’s services, at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, discuss innovative strategies the hospital is using to engage women and families through technology.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation posted a series of papers explaining the financial methodology for the Direct Contracting Model’s global and professional options, set to begin next April.

The AHA urged the Health Resources and Services Administration to better support hospitals and health systems in rural communities through refinements to the Health Professional Shortage Area scoring approach.

The AHA responded to a RAND Corporation study that found certain prices paid to hospitals by private health plans are high relative to Medicare. The study examined hospital prices for a limited number of employers and health plans from 2016 to 2018.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized a new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation payment model aimed at transforming kidney care to ensure patients with chronic kidney disease have access to high quality, coordinated care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule setting forth a five-year bundled payment model for radiation oncology, which will be mandatory in certain areas of the country beginning Jan. 1.

Proactive COVID-19 testing of all long-term care staff and residents, who are usually at higher risk of contracting the virus, may help prevent potential outbreaks, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug application for propofol injectable emulsion, an intravenous general anesthetic and sedation drug in short supply.