News

Andrea Preisler, AHA’s senior associate director of administrative simplification policy, explains why the recent final rule requiring Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and federally facilitated Marketplace plans to streamline their prior authorization processes should help reduce the burden on hospitals and clinicians and speed needed care for patients.

Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and New Mexico will participate in a new Department of Health and Human Services collaborative that will bring health care providers, experts and community partners together to study and improve postpartum mortality.

About half of U.S. health care workers have witnessed racial discrimination against patients and say discrimination against patients is a crisis or major problem, according to a survey released Feb. 15 by the Commonwealth Fund and African American Research Collaborative.

For the second consecutive year, speakers and attendees at the 2024 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference recorded Advancing Health podcasts live on site.

Two guests discuss a care network launched by Indiana University Health to spark social connection and community in light of the U.S. Surgeon General’s 2023 report declaring loneliness and social isolation an “epidemic” in American society.

The Department of Health and Human Services Feb. 14 named several hospital and health system programs final phase winners in its national competition to improve equity in postpartum care for Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Health and Human Services Feb. 14 requested comments for 60 days on market concentration and contracting practices among group purchasing organizations and drug wholesalers to understand their potential impact on pricing and generic drug shortages.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Feb. 14 held a hearing on AHA-supported legislation to reauthorize through 2029 the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (H.R. 7153), which provides grants to help health care organizations offer behavioral health services for front-line health care workers.

AHA leaders discuss 2024 rural legislative priorities, release new advocacy agenda.

Syphilis infections during pregnancy more than tripled between 2016 and 2022 to 280 cases per 100,000 births, ranging from 46 per 100,000 in Maine to 763 per 100,000 in South Dakota, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Feb. 13.

Nearly 1,100 rural health care practitioners and leaders convened in Orlando for AHA’s 37th Rural Health Care Leadership Conference. The annual event brings together rural hospital CEOs, senior executives, clinical leaders and trustees to share strategies, insights and resources unique to the rural health system.

The AHA’s American Organization for Nursing Leadership this week released the second phase of its Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Belonging toolkit, which provides practical action steps, case studies and other resources to help nurse leaders improve DEIB.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Feb. 12 designated CommonWell Health Alliance and Kno2 as Qualified Health Information Networks, meaning seven QHINs can now electronically exchange health information nationwide under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, a set of common rules for secure exchange of treatment and other health information required by the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016.

For the 61 million people who live in rural America, their local hospital provides essential services and programs to advance their health and the health of their communities.

The International Hospital Federation is accepting nominations through April 19 for its 2024 awards honoring excellence in hospitals and health care organizations around the world.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated its guidance for hospitals and critical access hospitals to permit health care team members to share patient information and orders with each other through a HIPAA-compliant secure texting platform that complies with Medicare and Medicaid conditions of participation.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Feb. 8 released a proposed rule intended to strengthen oversight of organizations that accredit health care providers certified by the Medicare and Medicaid programs and prevent conflicts of interest.

For the 57 million Americans who live in rural areas, their hospital is the lifeblood of the community.

Learn how hospitals and health systems are improving maternal and child health outcomes in this synopsis of the latest resources from AHA’s Better Health for Mothers and Babies initiative.

Jonathan Ripp, M.D., chief wellness officer for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and one of the nation’s first, discusses his role and how the importance of employee wellness has evolved over the past decade.