News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oct. 16 approved section 1115 demonstration amendments which will allow Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program coverage of traditional health care practices provided by Indian Health Service facilities, Tribal facilities and urban Indian organizations.

A report released Oct. 17 by the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s investigative subcommittee scrutinizes some of the nation's largest Medicare Advantage insurers for their use of prior authorization and high rates of denials for certain types of care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oct. 21 is hosting a webinar on meeting its new hospital price transparency requirements becoming effective Jan. 1.

A new AHA case study highlights how Springfield Memorial Hospital in Illinois revised its patient safety culture through the implementation of its unique, impactful Great Catch Award, Equity Scorecard and Safety Summits programs.

Michael Schiller, executive director of the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management, and Michael Ganio, senior director of pharmacy practice and quality with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, discuss the current situation with IV fluid supplies and the need to create a conservation plan for critical patient supplies that could be threatened by a disaster or other event.

The AHA's Institute for Diversity and Health Equity has extended until Nov. 7 the deadline to apply for the 2025 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Awards, which recognize the efforts of member hospitals and health systems in advancing health equity, diversity and inclusion across three categories: Transforming, Emerging and Small/Rural.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a health advisory on the supply disruption of peritoneal dialysis and intravenous solutions due to the Baxter plant closure in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.

Blue Cross Blue Shield has agreed to pay $2.8 billion to a settlement fund for health care providers as part of the resolution of a 12-year antitrust lawsuit, according to the plaintiffs Oct. 14 in a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

In this conversation, Marvin Taylor, owner of All in the Wrists, and Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, M.D., vice president and chief health equity officer at Indiana University Health, discuss the importance of barbershops in the African American community, and how community health workers inside these barbershops are providing valuable health care and public education.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oct. 11 issued a final rule establishing appeals processes for certain Medicare beneficiaries who are initially admitted as hospital inpatients but subsequently reclassified as outpatients receiving observation services.

As part of its regular updates on the IV solution supply disruption as a result of the temporary closure of a manufacturing plant in North Carolina, Baxter Oct. 14 launched a new webpage with resources that hospitals can use for product management and conservation strategies.

Hospitals and health systems build effective community partnerships by aligning with and addressing community health priorities and authentically engaging local leaders and residents to collaborate in this work.

The AHA, joined by the Association of American Medical Colleges and America’s Essential Hospitals, today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Moyle v. United States in support of the federal government’s challenge to an Idaho law that criminalizes the performance of certain emergency pregnancy terminations.

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, Oct. 10 activated the Emergency Prescription Assistance Program to aid uninsured Georgians impacted by Hurricane Helene for prescription drug and certain medical equipment replacement.

Andres Nieto, director of community health outreach and marketing with NewYork-Presbyterian, and Jamie Ketas, vice president of population health with Englewood Health, discuss co-designing efforts with their communities to improve quality of life, work that was recognized as finalists for one of the AHA’s most prestigious prizes.

A survey released Oct. 9 and funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, a public-private partnership whose members include the AHA, shows 63% of U.S. adults are aware of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a 6% increase from 2022.

The FBI, along with the National Security Agency, Cyber National Mission Force and United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre, today released a joint agency advisory on cyber operations by the Russian Federation’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), also known as APT29, Midnight Blizzard, Cozy Bear, and the Dukes, targeting U.S. and global entities.

The Federal Trade Commission Oct. 10 finalized changes to the premerger notification rules, form and instructions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The final rule, while less burdensome than the proposed rule, increases the reporting requirements on the current HSR form, particularly for the buyer.

The National Institutes of Health Oct. 10 released results of a study that found that infection from COVID-19 in the first wave of the pandemic appeared to significantly increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and death for up to three years for unvaccinated individuals.

The Health Resources and Services Administration Oct. 9 announced it will award nearly $19 million to 15 states for identifying and implementing maternal health strategies.