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The latest stories from AHA Today.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., today issued an update on the agency鈥檚 efforts to address ongoing shortages of intravenous saline. 鈥淏ased on the information we鈥檙e receiving from companies and the actions we鈥檝e taken at FDA, we continue to expect that the shortage of IV fluids will improve in鈥
The share of U.S. adults without health insurance rose by 1.3 percentage points, or an estimated 3.2 million people, in 2017 to 12.2%, according to the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index. That鈥檚 the largest increase since the index began tracking the adult uninsured rate in 2008, but well below the鈥
A recent Modern Healthcare article analyzing charity care spending by 20 large health systems 鈥済ives readers an inaccurate and incomplete picture of how hospitals and health systems provide tremendous benefit to both patients and their communities, and do so while facing many challenges in鈥
Hospital emergency department visits related to alcohol use increased 47% between 2006 and 2014, or an average 210,000 per year, outpacing the increase for any other cause, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Rates increased more鈥
Kathleen Becker, president of SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital in St. Louis, will lead the AHA's Constituency Section for Metropolitan Hospitals as 2018 chair of its governing council. Dennis Pullin, president and CEO of Virtua Health in Marlton, NJ, is council chair-elect and will become鈥
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission yesterday recommended that Congress increase Medicare base payment rates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services by 1.25% in 2019, as provided under current law. In other voting, the commission recommended that the Health and Human Services Secretary鈥
The flu hospitalization rate rose to 22.7 per 100,000 people in the first week of January from 17.7 the prior week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today. Every state but Hawaii reported widespread flu activity, while the District of Columbia has local activity. H3N2 A鈥
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today approved a Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver for Kentucky that will require some adult beneficiaries to work or participate in other 鈥渃ommunity engagement鈥 activities, such as job training or community service, to remain eligible鈥
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a Jan. 23 conference call for Medicaid providers and agencies on the transition to the new Medicare beneficiary identifier.
Joan Coffman, president and CEO of Hospital Sisters Health System St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital in Decatur, IL, will lead the AHA's Section for Small or Rural Hospitals in 2018. Coffman will chair the section's 19-person governing council, which represents small or rural hospitals in the AHA's policy process鈥