News

The Department of Health and Human Services finalized proposed revisions to a 2016 rule implementing nondiscrimination protections for patients under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.

Kevin Dahill will retire Dec. 31 as CEO and president of the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council and Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association (NorMet), part of the Healthcare Association of New York State and its Suburban Hospital Alliance.

The National Center for Healthcare Leadership is accepting nominations through July 6 for the 2020 Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidance on using telehealth to expand access to health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The Small Business Administration released an interim final rule implementing the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, AHA-supported legislation enacted last week.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life in ways we never expected. For patients across the country, the cancellation or postponement of non-emergent surgeries, clinic visits and procedures delayed important medical care and financially devastated many hospitals and health systems, even threatening the ability of many to keep their doors open.

Beginning July 1, certain hospital outpatient department services require prior authorization for payment under the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system final rule for calendar year 2020.

Loyola Medicine has maintained a strong partnership with its neighboring communities in Chicago’s near western suburbs. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this health system-community partnership helped residents in these economically-challenged communities in many ways, including providing nutritious food on a more regular basis.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities is accepting applications through Dec. 15 for funding to expand and improve digital health interventions to identify, treat and provide services for health conditions secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic in health disparity populations and those with medical or social vulnerabilities.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first COVID-19 diagnostic test with next generation sequencing, which can generate information about the genomic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

While the COVID-19 pandemic placed a pause on routine medical visits and non-emergency procedures, people are still giving birth and in need of support from hospitals and health systems.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new injection to assist in tracheal intubation and provide muscle relaxation during surgeries or mechanical ventilation.

AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack wrote in a blog that hospitals and health systems face a triple-hit from COVID-19: skyrocketing costs of preparing for a patient surge; a forced shutdown of regular operations for non-emergent procedures; and treating a growing number of uninsured patients.

About 60% of participants in a study of young adults infected with COVID-19 on a U.S. aircraft carrier had reactive antibodies to the virus, 59% of whom also had neutralizing antibodies at the time of specimen collection, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitals and other organizations have responded to COVID-19 by leveraging technology to expand outreach to patients and communities.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities opened applications for supplemental funding to evaluate interventions to reduce COVID-19’s impact on populations that experience health disparities or other populations vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, or mortality.

Johnson & Johnson announced it accelerated the initiation of its first human trials of its coronavirus vaccine candidate, with the trial slated to begin in the second half of July.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities opened applications for supplemental funding to evaluate interventions to reduce COVID-19’s impact on populations that experience health disparities or other populations vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, or mortality.

The White House Supply Chain Task Force projects the nation will have enough N95 masks to meet pandemic demand for July through October, according to a report released to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for a hearing on federal efforts to procure and distribute supplies to fight the pandemic.

AHA submitted comment to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the agency’s proposed skilled nursing facility prospective payment system for fiscal year 2021, urging CMS to support additional funds to offset the cost of critically important COVID-19 testing.