News

Two clinical trials launched in April to evaluate convalescent plasma as a treatment for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are expanding, the National Institutes of Health announced.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced $165 million in supplemental funding to help 33 states participating in the Money Follows the Person Medicaid demonstration transition older adults and individuals with disabilities from long-term care facilities to home and community-based settings, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The House voted 359-57 to pass a continuing resolution that would generally extend current federal funding levels for health care and other programs through Dec. 11.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $200 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds to help states, territories and other jurisdictions prepare to distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson said  that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is moving to a global phase 3 clinical trial.

The RAND Corporation last week released the third edition of its hospital price transparency study, which once again missed the mark with its flawed methodology, writes Aaron Wesolowski, AHA vice president for policy research, analytics and strategy, in the AHA Stat Blog.

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded states, territories and nonprofit organizations $341 million in fiscal year 2020 funding for the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, which provides voluntary home visiting services to pregnant women and parents with young children.

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.