News

Some health care needs are predictable but some are not. We can plan around giving birth, having a heart bypass, or scheduling a colonoscopy. But there are also surprises, such as injuries from accidents, or a cancer that appears with no family history … or COVID-19.

We’ve been discussing for months how hospitals and health systems are contending with the worst financial crisis in their history as they continue to serve on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is hosting a webinar series on the third Thursday of each month focused on imparting VA health care policies and practices to assist non-VA providers in serving veterans and their families through the VA Community Care Program.

The Department of Health and Human Services released a final federal strategic plan for health information technology over the next five years.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule updating the home health prospective payment system for calendar year 2021.

The Federal Reserve Board reduced the minimum loan size for three Main Street Lending Program facilities from $250,000 to $100,000 and adjusted associated fees to support smaller organizations facing continued revenue shortfalls due to the pandemic.

Marna Borgstom, CEO of Yale New Haven Health and a member of AHA’s Board of Trustees, received the 2020 Charles S. Lauer National Healthcare Award from B’nai B’rith International for her “dedication to community service, excellence in leadership and outstanding philanthropic commitment in the health care community and beyond.”

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services conditionally approved Indiana’s request to require some adult Medicaid beneficiaries to work or participate in other “community engagement” activities to remain eligible for coverage, contingent on the Supreme Court legally authorizing the provisions.

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and Labor released its transparency-in-coverage final rule imposing new requirements upon group health plans and issuers of health insurance coverage in the individual and group markets.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has proved that crisis tends to be a driver of innovation,” writes Jonathan Bandel, vice president of strategy and innovation for New York’s White Plains Hospital.

The Food and Drug Administration updated its guidance on enforcement policy for non-invasive remote monitoring devices that support patient monitoring during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Over 10,000 eligible nursing homes, or 76% of the field, will receive a portion of $333 million in COVID-19 Provider Relief Funds for meeting infection control and mortality criteria in effect from August through September.

The departments of Health and Human Services and Defense have agreed to purchase the first 300,000 doses of the investigational antibody drug bamlanivimab, also known as LY-CoV555, which state and territorial health departments will distribute to health care facilities for use in COVID-19 outpatients if the Food and Drug Administration authorizes the drug.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced an interim final rule establishing additional Medicare hospital payment to support Medicare beneficiaries’ access to COVID-19 vaccines and new treatments when they become available.

In an interim final rule, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology extended to April 5, 2021, the deadline to comply with the information blocking requirements in its final rule. The original deadline was Nov. 2, 2020.

White Plains Hospital in Westchester County, New York, found itself at the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis. A team led by our chief information officer began to investigate more efficient methods to automate temperate screenings, including using thermal cameras to take temperatures. They went with a self-service cart with a thermal camera imbedded in it.

Essa Mohamed, a National Institutes of Health Fellow at Mayo Clinic’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, speaks with Elisa Arespacochaga, vice president of AHA’s Physician Alliance, about strategies to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in clinical research to advance health equity.

Adults should be screened for colon cancer beginning at age 45 rather than 50, even in the absence of symptoms and personal or family history related to colorectal cancer, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said in a draft recommendation statement.

Ninety-eight percent of eligible clinicians who reported data in the 2019 Quality Payment Program through the Merit-based Incentive Payment System track will receive a positive payment adjustment in 2021, with 84% receiving an additional adjustment for exceptional performance, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

In partnership with the AHA’s Center for Health Innovation and other national health care organizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched Project Firstline, a national training collaborative to help every health care worker understand and adhere to recommended infection control practices to respond to COVID-19 and protect their health.