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The Department of Health and Human Services today recommended governors take certain actions to prepare for a potential further increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations this winter, and has pre-positioned N-95 masks, gloves, gowns and ventilators at strategic locations should states need them.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday released a proposed rule that would increase oversight of Medicare Advantage plans and better align them with traditional Medicare, address access gaps in behavioral health services and further streamline prior authorization processes, supplementing a separate proposal last week.

In November, the ���������� Association hosted a panel session discussing the “next wave of emergency preparedness,” at Becker’s 10th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable in Chicago. This session centered on three priority areas that health care leaders must address to prepare, respond and recover from future public health emergencies: strengthening cross-sector partnerships, building workforce capacity and resilience, and fostering a culture of preparedness.

In the latest blog post from AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, Joy Lewis, AHA’s senior vice president for health equity strategies, reflects on IFDHE’s bold initiatives this year and previews 2023’s forthcoming projects.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention is working with NORC at the University of Chicago, AHA and others to identify and evaluate health systems implementing anti-racism practices with the potential to reduce health disparities and improve outcomes related to heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular disease conditions.

As pediatric and adult hospitalization rates for flu and COVID-19 increase, AHA’s United Against the Flu campaign released a new social media toolkit to help hospitals and health systems encourage their communities to get vaccinated, including getting the updated COVID-19 booster. 

U.S. spending on health care grew just 2.7% in 2021 as federal expenditures for health care declined after spiking in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported today in Health Affairs.

The Biden Administration has named 17 members to the Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

A bipartisan group of 113 House members yesterday urged President Biden and congressional leaders to prevent additional impending Medicare cuts from going into effect, including the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go sequester. 

The House later today is expected to pass a continuing resolution extending the current federal funding levels for health care and other programs through Dec. 23.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday released its proposed standards for qualified health plans offered through the health insurance marketplaces for 2024.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration proposed updating opioid treatment program standards and admission criteria to expand access to treatment.

The Food and Drug Administration last week authorized for emergency use a test kit to help identify individuals with an adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2, indicating a recent or prior infectio

States and health care providers may use regulatory flexibilities available during the COVID-19 public health emergency to help respond to non-COVID-19 illnesses straining hospital and health care systems, such as flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told governors Dec. 2.

When I began my term as AHA board chair in January 2022, the health care field was evolving. Hospitals and health systems were focusing on the immediate needs of responding to the pandemic while also prioritizing vital work on long-term strategies to advance health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today recommended the Moderna and Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccines in children as young as 6 months old.

In a study of men under age 50 who were eligible to receive the JYNNEOS vaccine to prevent monkeypox (mpox) during the U.S. outbreak this year, unvaccinated men were 10 times more likely to get the virus than men who received the two-dose vaccine, and seven times more likely to get it than men who received only one vaccine dose.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality seeks input on how the Department of Health and Human Services can most effectively advance patient and health care workforce safety through a National Healthcare System Action Alliance to Advance Patient Safety, which the agency plans to launch next year.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission today discussed draft payment update recommendations for 2024, which the commission will vote on in January.

Challenges. Resilience. Innovation. Opportunities.