News

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration extended certain methadone take-home flexibilities for opioid treatment programs until one year after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, and said it is considering ways to make the flexibilities permanent. 

Community investments help foster the social and physical environments that support communities’ long-term health.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized a single booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for all individuals aged 18 or older at least six months after receiving the initial two-dose series or two months after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  

The House of Representatives voted 220-213 to pass a modified version of the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376), a roughly $1.75 trillion social spending package that includes many health care provisions.

For nearly two years, our nation’s hospitals and health systems — and the gifted, dedicated women and men who lead them — have fought back relentlessly against a once-in-a-century pandemic. 

Leaders at St. Patrick Hospital in Montana say as COVID-19 cases rose, the ages of patients were getting younger and younger.

Houlton Regional Hospital in Maine has shared guidelines on how to safely host holiday get-togethers with friends and families to help prevent COVID-19 and flu from spreading.

In part 2 of this two-part series, Ruby Kirby, CEO of West Tennessee Healthcare Bolivar Hospital and West Tennessee Healthcare Camden Hospital, shares her insights on how rural hospitals and health systems can work with their communities to build confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine, including education, partnerships and addressing social determinants of health.

The AHA continues to advocate for rural hospitals and health systems on Capitol Hill and beyond, elevating the most pressing issues facing rural hospitals nationwide.

The AHA has released its next People Matter, Words Matter poster, which can be downloaded, shared and hung in clinical, office or other care settings.

The administration issued an interim final rule requiring health plans to begin submitting annual information next year on prescription drug coverage and spending, including the most frequently dispensed and costliest drugs, and information on prescription drug rebates and their impact on premiums and out-of-pocket spending.

The federal government will purchase 10 million treatment courses of the COVID-19 oral antiviral Paxlovid from Pfizer if the Food and Drug Administration approves or authorizes the drug for emergency use, the administration announced.

The AHA released a new issue of the COVID-19 Snapshot, underscoring the persisting challenges facing hospitals and health systems during the ongoing public health emergency.

Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska., introduced the Bolstering Infectious Outbreak Preparedness Workforce Act, AHA-supported legislation that would authorize $50 million for a new student loan repayment program for infectious disease clinicians and bio-preparedness health care professionals.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has suspended activities related to implementation and enforcement of its Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 vaccination and testing pending future developments in litigation, the agency announced on its website.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has suspended activities related to implementation and enforcement of its Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 vaccination and testing pending future developments in litigation, the agency announced on its website.

How many Americans don't have health insurance? An estimated 9.6% of U.S. residents, or 31.1 million people, were uninsured and lacked health insurance when surveyed in the first six months of 2021, according to preliminary estimates from the National Health Interview Survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Texas filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ interim final rule requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most health care settings that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including hospitals and health systems.

The AHA has received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help prevent suicide among hospital and health system workers, and seeks input from members on emerging approaches.

The National Academy of Medicine released four reports on applying lessons learned from COVID-19 to prepare for and respond to the next influenza pandemic.