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The latest stories from AHA Today.
At its Annual Membership Meeting this week in Washington, D.C., AHA presented two federal hospital leaders with 2023 awards recognizing their outstanding service to the health care field.
鈥淚magine if the government required health insurance and drug companies to account for every dollar they spent, audit those data, and publicly report those numbers,鈥 write AHA鈥檚 Bharath Krishnamurthy, director of health analytics and policy, and Aaron Wesolowski, vice president of research strategy鈥
In a statement submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for a hearing April 17 on President Biden鈥檚 fiscal year 2025 Health and Human Services鈥 budget request, AHA expressed concern about proposed new penalties for hospitals and health systems that do not meet what the鈥
Challenging prior authorization policy requirements were addressed in an AHA Annual Membership Meeting panel discussion moderated by Marilyn Werber Serafini, executive director for the Health Program at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
It's always important to bring the issue back to the patient, said Sarah Lechner, senior vice president and chief of external affairs for Hackensack Meridian Health, during a Q&A about building relationships with elected officials when advocating for hospitals and health systems at AHA's 2024鈥
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Mandy Cohen, M.D., April 16 shared with attendees of AHA鈥檚 2024 Annual Membership Meeting how her team is preparing the nation for the next public health emergency, highlighting how hospitals鈥 ability to provide the CDC with timely data is already鈥
Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm addressed AHA Annual Membership Meeting attendees about the Administration鈥檚 work to improve access to care and increase the number of people with health insurance, as well as the Change Healthcare cyberattack and what鈥
Three retiring members of Congress 鈥 Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., and Dan Kildee, D-Mich. 鈥 engaged in a genial conversation that covered the current state of Congress, as well as what they view as the major issues and possible solutions facing health care.
Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., addressed attendees of AHA鈥檚 2024 Annual Membership Meeting and touched on many of the biggest issues in health care: cybersecurity; prior authorization and denials of care; extensions for expiring telehealth provisions; and how government and hospitals can work together鈥
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., April 16 updated AHA members on progress to extend telehealth waivers, offering hope that a solution will arise in end-of-year legislation that Congress will attempt to pass.