News

Long hours, a shortage of personal protective equipment, self-isolating from their own family members to protect them … these are just a few of the many difficulties America’s front-line health care workers are facing as they lead the fight against COVID-19.

Providers caring for patients with behavioral health disorders face unique challenges in balancing safe public health measures and clinical protocols during the COVID-19 emergency, the AHA said in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

The Federal Reserve announced the terms of both expanded and new "Main Street" lending facilities that would provide loans to a variety of eligible borrowers.

AHA urged the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider immediately its decision to limit participation in the COVID-19 Telehealth Program to certain nonprofit or public health care providers, noting that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act included “no such restriction” on the program’s $200 million in funding.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a temporary rule to bar the exportation of some personal protective equipment, including some respirators and surgical masks and gloves.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency launched Project Air Bridge on March 29 to speed the delivery of much-needed medical equipment and supplies from overseas manufacturers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated guidance for critical infrastructure workers’ return to work following exposure to COVID-19.

A bipartisan group of senators and representatives urged the administration to resume premium processing for physicians seeking employment-based visas to provide rural communities with access to foreign physicians who have just completed their medical training in the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration is clarifying several compounding policies so hospitals and health systems understand what their 503A compounding pharmacies are permitted to do when making or distributing certain drugs.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services April 6 finalized updates and changes to its Medicare Advantage and Part D payment methodologies for calendar years 2021 and 2022.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently granted Section 1135 Medicaid waivers for the COVID-19 emergency to Maine, Nevada, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, bringing the national total to 49.

Hospitals in Nevada, Washington and Connecticut will receive 2020 Vista Awards for their teamwork and excellence in health care facility projects, AHA’s American Society for Health Care Engineering announced.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published April 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine shows decreased Clostridioides difficile infection and associated hospitalizations in the United States from 2011-2017.

A new AHA partnership with Point A hopes to foster further collaboration between individuals with engineering and innovation experience to consult with manufacturers looking to reconfigure their facilities to produce personal protective equipment.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum has donated the first $100,000 from its sale of Dr. Fauci bobbleheads to the AHA 100 Million Mask Challenge’s Protect the Heroes fund, created to provide critical resources for frontline hospital caregivers.

CMS has delayed the start of its Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) Model from May 1 until fall 2020 as model participants work to respond to the needs of the COVID-19 emergency.

The AHA asked the Small Business Administration to make small- and mid-size public hospitals eligible for its newly-authorized Paycheck Protection Program.

UnitedHealth Group will accelerate nearly $2 billion in claims payments to U.S. health care providers under its fully insured commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid businesses to address short-term financial pressure caused by the COVID-19 emergency, UnitedHealthcare and Optum announced.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services delivered close to $34 billion in Medicare accelerated and advance payments to Part A providers, including hospitals, and Part B suppliers to combat resource challenges related to COVID-19, the agency said.

The Creative Coalition, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, and the AHA launched the “Protect the Heroes” campaign, which allows the general public to make direct impact donations to America’s hospitals and health systems.