News

AHA Jan. 5 thanked the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission for its draft recommendation to provide a current-law market basket update plus 1.5% for the hospital inpatient and outpatient prospective payment systems in 2025, but urged the commission to recommend a higher update to account for the sustained and substantial financial pressures hospitals face.

As we welcome a new year, this is a good time to examine the health care landscape ahead as we work to ensure Congress fully appreciates how hospitals and health systems need its support to continue delivering high-quality patient care to their constituents and communities.

AHA has released social media content and graphics in English and Spanish to help hospitals and health systems raise awareness about human trafficking during January’s National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

Five surgery patients were diagnosed with tuberculosis, two of whom died, after receiving bone allografts last year from a deceased donor, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Jan. 4.

The AHA Guide 2024 Edition offers a comprehensive hospital directory with quick and easy search capabilities and details on utilization, leadership, accreditations and certifications, facilities and services.

The deadline to apply for the Executive Certificate in Diversity and Health Equity, a 10-month fellowship managed by AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, has been extended to Jan. 12.

AHA will again host a series of in-person meetings to provide the field with valuable insights and productive networking.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dec.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dec. 28 released a final rule updating Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments fees and clarifying CLIA regulations.

In a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, AHA Jan. 2 expressed concern that a proposed rule intended to create disincentives for health care providers to interfere with the access, exchange or use of electronic health information could threaten the financial viability of economically fragile hospitals.

AHA Dec. 22 filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a Louisiana law that prohibits drug companies from denying Louisiana hospitals the same 340B discounts for drugs dispensed at community pharmacies that would be provided via in-house pharmacies.

The departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury, along with the Office of Personnel Management, Dec. 22 announced they intend to reopen the period for submitting comments on a proposed rule for new requirements relating to the disclosure of information that group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage must include.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week corrected a technical error in the displayed calendar year 2024 outpatient prospective payment system payment rate for APC 5061 (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy).

The Government Accountability Office Dec. 21 recommended the Food and Drug Administration and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure and Security Agency update a 5-year-old agreement regarding medical device security.

A CDC study released Dec. 21 found low COVID-19 and flu vaccination coverage for most adults, and low RSV vaccination coverage for adults aged 60 and older.

The departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury Dec. 15 reopened the federal independent dispute resolution portal to process all dispute types.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dec. 21 issued a proposed rule to provide additional appeals processes for Medicare beneficiaries in certain circumstances.

A webinar presented Dec. 7 by AHA's Hospital Against Violence initiative features discussion about facility safety and security strategies and the technologies that aim to mitigate workforce and workplace violence.

Three rural hospital and health system leaders discuss the new ways they are retaining their workforce and how they are proceeding to attract future generations of health care workers.

AHA Dec. 20 announced the leadership team from Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital, a 35-bed rural acute care hospital in Waimea, Hawaii, as the recipient of the association's 2023 Rural Hospital Leadership Team Award.