News

Read the recap of the first two days of the 2023 meeting from Washington, DC.

In response to questions from AHA and others and informed by testing results, the Food and Drug Administration April 21 announced that health care providers without alternative options may continue to use a certain version of the O&M Halyard FLUIDSHIELD Surgical N95 Respirator Mask for fluid barrier protection if they wear a face shield over the respirator. 

The array of global threats and challenges are myriad, retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis told hospital and health system leaders, noting that future pandemics, coupled with climate change, must be counted as serious concerns. 

The Veterans Affairs health care system shares many challenges with its non-federal counterparts, and workforce recruitment and access to care are at the top of that list, VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal, M.D., told AHA annual meeting attendees during a conversation with AHA Chair-elect Joanne Conroy, M.D., president and CEO of Dartmouth Health. 

Addressing the AHA annual meeting, Ashish Jha, M.D., White House COVID-19 response coordinator, whose term will end May 11 with the COVID-19 public health emergency, reflected on his time in the Administration.

Physician-owned hospitals are “not good for patients, communities, the integrity of the Medicare program, or providers who are actually in the business of caring for all patients, 24/7, regardless of their ability to pay or their medical condition,” the AHA and Federation of American Hospitals wrote today in a blog post.  

At its Annual Membership Meeting April 24 in Washington, D.C., AHA presented two federal hospital leaders with 2022 awards recognizing their outstanding service to the health care field.

Research presented by acclaimed health care finances expert Lisa Goldstein, senior vice president for Kaufman Hall, show that times are tough but hospital leaders indicate there are silver linings from the COVID-19 pandemic that will pay dividends moving forward.  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is rethinking its payment policy, rules and overall structure as it works to present a better reimbursement landscape for health care providers, Jonathan Blum, CMS principal deputy administrator and chief operating officer, said during a fireside chat with Ashley Thompson, AHA’s senior vice president of public policy. 

The health care workforce, 340B Drug Pricing Program and end of the COVID-19 public health emergency are at the forefront of AHA’s discussions with lawmakers, said Stacey Hughes, AHA's executive vice president of government relations and public policy, during the annual meeting opening plenary.

Jim Skogsbergh, co-CEO of Advocate Health, received AHA’s highest honor, the 2023 Distinguished Service Award, during a ceremony at the annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Health care cybersecurity has too often been an afterthought, with protections added after an internal review or external attack discover a vulnerability, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told moderator former CNN Washington bureau chief Frank Sesno at today’s federal plenary session. 

AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack opened AHA’s Annual Membership Meeting by talking about three key messages that Congress needs to hear.  

Patients are facing difficulties accessing care, while hospitals struggle with workforce and administrative challenges arising from prior authorizations, paperwork and other burdens, according to a panel discussion Sunday focused on behavioral health. 

The future is in innovation, both in process and in thought, according to a panel of health care leaders at Sunday’s Evolving Systems of Care for the Future session at the AHA annual meeting.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Climate Change and Health Equity today released a resource to help the health sector find grants, loan programs and tax credits to invest in renewable energy and build resilient infrastructure.

The Rural Health Redesign Center helps interested critical access hospitals and rural hospitals with 50 or fewer beds transition to Medicare’s new Rural Emergency Hospital designation. Learn more about the designation and its payment implications in this podcast from AHA’s special series on rural care providers.

Memorial Hermann Health System, a nonprofit health system committed to creating healthier Houston communities, will receive the $100,000 Foster G. McGaw Prize April 24 at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C., for its leadership and breadth in building programs, services and initiatives that address the varied health needs of its patients and community.

A new issue brief from AHA’s Hospitals Against Violence initiative offers evidence-based tools and strategies to help hospitals and health systems assess violence risks and make the care environment safer.

The Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care, whose founding members include the AHA, Sunday will launch a national television ad, followed by digital ads and a social media push, urging Congress to reject proposals to reduce Medicare payments to hospitals.