News

The AHA and other national hospital organizations asked congressional leaders to include in the next COVID-19 legislative package provisions to shield from unwarranted liability the health care facilities and providers treating patients during the pandemic. 

The Department of Health and Human Services has extended the deadline for health care providers to attest to receipt of payments from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund and accept the terms and conditions.

A new AHA resource shares ways hospitals and health systems are helping to care for and support the health care workforce during the COVID-19 crisis.

Last month, the AHA announced the availability of HealthEquip, a new app-powered resource matching hospitals in need of personal protective equipment with organizations donating PPE.

The Department of Health and Human Services reminded health care providers that HIPAA privacy rules bar them from giving media and film crews access to facilities where patients’ protected health information is accessible without the patients’ prior authorization, even during the current COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently launched a webpage to provide information about an agency-developed serologic test to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

The Food and Drug Administration issued guidance implementing section 3121 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which requires manufacturers to notify FDA of a permanent discontinuance or significant interruption in the manufacture of certain medical devices to prevent or mitigate shortages during the COVID-19 emergency.

The AHA urged the American Bankers Association to encourage its member financial institutions to commit to working expeditiously with hospital and health system borrowers who are unable to meet financial and operating covenants because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first serology test in which independent federal data provided the scientific evidence used to support the authorization.

SARS-CoV-2 may spread from individuals who are presymptomatic or asymptomatic, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report based on epidemiologic, virologic and modeling studies before CDC recommended widespread use of face masks.

The CDC updated guidance designed to keep health care personnel safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with patient isolation strategies to ensure consistency in CDC’s criteria for patient discontinuation of transmission-based precautions and health care personnel return-to-work guidance.

In its recently updated report “COVID-19 Models: Forecasting the Pandemic’s Spread,”, AHA looks at five new COVID-19 forecasting models, including two free AHA tools to help visualize the nation’s hospital bed capacity.

In a new report, the AHA estimates that the financial impact to hospitals and health systems from COVID-19 expenses and revenue losses over the four-month period from March 1 and June 30 totals $202.6 billion, with losses averaging over $50 billion per month.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit denied the federal government’s request to lift pending appeal a preliminary injunction blocking a presidential proclamation requiring most individuals seeking to enter the United States via an immigrant visa to have approved health insurance coverage within 30 days of entry.

The national generosity movement known as Giving Tuesday has designated May 5 as #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving in response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, is enrolling 2,000 U.S. families in a study to help determine the COVID-19 infection rate in U.S. children and their family members, and the share of infected children who develop symptoms.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have updated their telework guidance to include new guidance on telework best practices, videoconferencing tips, guidance for securing videoconferencing, and specific cybersecurity recommendations for critical infrastructure and federal agencies using video conferencing.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health May 1 announced it will provide funding to help deliver important COVID-19-related information to racial and ethnic minority, rural and socially vulnerable communities hardest hit by the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued preliminary guidance for the development of forthcoming contact tracing apps that can help slow the spread of COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration said it is adopting more stringent standards for COVID-19 antibody tests.