News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will reweight the cost performance category for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System from 15% to 0% for the 2020 performance period — which affects 2022 payments — due to the impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency, and redistribute the 15% prescribed weight to another performance category or categories. 

Health care providers should stop using certain syringes and needles with needle safety devices made by Guangdong Haiou Medical Apparatus Co. until further notice due to quality issues, including certain needles detaching from the syringe after injection and other needle safety device failures, the Food and Drug Administration said in a letter to health care providers.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized storing thawed, undiluted vials of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at refrigerator temperatures (35°F to 46°F) for up to 30 days after the company submitted data showing the vials can remain stable that long, up from the previously authorized five days.

The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security convened to examine the nation’s health care workforce shortages and potential legislative and other solutions. 

To strengthen the nation’s medical supply chain for future public health emergencies, Congress should take steps to diversify the manufacturing and supply of critical raw materials; support reuse and reprocessing technologies; invest in developing new products and data standards to detect shortages early; and increase end-user inventories, AHA told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs.

In this first of two AHA podcasts on rebuilding maternity services at critical access hospitals, officials from the UNC School of Medicine at Chapel Hill and Chatham Hospital UNC Health Care at Siler City, N.C., discuss the strategic need and clinical case for maternity services at their small, rural community.

Atrium Health, Charlotte, N.C., will receive the 2021 AHA Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award for its outstanding efforts to advance diversity, inclusion and health equity, the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity announced.

In a statement submitted to the Senate Finance Committee for a hearing today on COVID-19 health care flexibilities, AHA urged Congress and the administration to make permanent certain health care flexibilities granted for the COVID-19 public health emergency that have enhanced the patient experience and led to better outcomes.

At a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights hearing examining the benefits health systems provide to communities, AHA Board Chair Rod Hochman, M.D., emphasized that the pandemic clearly demonstrated the benefits that integration provides to respond to emergencies, support access and create greater stability.

The AHA joins the field in mourning the passing of Donald (Don) A. Wilson, longtime president and CEO of the Kansas Hospital Association.

Health care and other organizations can apply through June 4 for up to $1 million a year for four years to test a network approach to improving maternal health access and outcomes in rural regions.

The National Academy of Medicine released separate discussion papers examining the experiences of payers and clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic, lessons learned and priorities for the sectors going forward. 

AHA’s Future of Rural Health Care Task Force has released a report with recommendations for long-range solutions for improving rural health and health care in America.

COVID-19 vaccination coverage was about 7 percentage points lower in rural counties than in urban counties as of April 10, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency released guidance to help emergency managers plan for disaster response and recovery while adhering to public health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration allocated to states and territories $3 billion in supplemental block grants for mental health and substance use treatment included in the American Rescue Plan Act.

Building integrated systems of care can lead to meaningful benefits for patients and help hospitals best serve the health needs of their communities, writes AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack in an advertorial published in the Wall Street Journal.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services delayed, from May 15 to Dec. 15, the effective date for its final rule codifying how it defines “reasonable and necessary” coverage for items and services furnished under Medicare Parts A and B.

As part of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, join AHA’s Joining Hands for Greater Impact series, May 26 at 12 p.m. ET, to explore how to address the unique challenges faced by Asian American and Pacific Islander communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children and adults in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program used 26 million fewer mental care health services between March and October 2020 than during the same period in 2019, declining 34% for children and 22% for adults, according to preliminary data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.