News

Over 1.8 million people selected a 2021 health plan through the federally facilitated marketplace between Feb. 15 and July 31 during the special enrollment period created in response to the COVID-19 emergency, with an additional 723,000 enrolling through the 15 state-based marketplaces, the Department of Health and Human Services reported.

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore will enroll up to 200 adults who received a kidney transplant in the past year and had no or low antibody response to two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in a study to see if a third dose of the vaccine induces a protective immune response, the National Institutes of Health announced.

The Senate, by a 69-30 vote, passed the massive, bipartisan infrastructure bill, sending to the House a package that contains provisions that align with hospitals’ and health systems’ priorities.

The Senate today will begin debate on a concurrent budget resolution giving Congress fast-track procedures to pass a second “human” infrastructure package of up to $3.5 trillion with a simple majority vote in the Senate.

he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will host a call for clinicians Aug. 12 at 2 p.m. ET on preventing, diagnosing and treating COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has since March investigated four cases of melioidosis, a bacterial infection rare in the United States, including two deaths.

Hospitals and health systems employed 18,300 more people in July, as U.S. jobs overall increased by 943,000, according to preliminary data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And it’s not only what we say to patients and their families that matters but how we talk with care teams in private. Many times we may not even realize we are being insensitive or spreading stigma. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a proposed rule that would rescind its November 2020 Most Favored Nation model interim final rule.

Given the recent upsurge in COVID-19 cases around the country, we can’t say how much longer the official public health emergency will last. But we do know that many regulatory waivers put into place by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the start of the pandemic have worked very well and deserve to live on past the current crisis. 

The AHA Aug. 6 announced the promotion of Lisa Kidder Hrobsky to senior vice president of legislative and political affairs.

The California Department of Public Health issued a pair of public health orders for health care facilities, establishing the state as the nation’s first to require workers in health care settings to be fully vaccinated.

The Health Resources and Services Administration yesterday

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Office of Minority Health have released the Minority Health Social Vulnerability Index, a tool to help emergency response planners and public health officials apply a health equity lens to research, strategic planning, program design and evaluation related to response and recovery for COVID-19 and other public health emergencies.

The American Medical Association published a Current Procedural Terminology code for providers administering a potential third dose of the current Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

The Department of Health and Human Services should better engage and communicate with stakeholders to improve the HHS Protect data system and how it collects hospital capacity data during a public health emergency, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study confirming the comparative effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines versus natural immunity, including immunity gained from prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.

In evaluating whether to temporarily suspend survey activities if a hospital experiences a COVID-19 surge, CMS last month told AHA it will consider whether the hospital has notified the appropriate state public health agency and activated its emergency preparedness plan, and the proportion of hospital staff and resources dedicated to managing COVID-19 patients.

The AHA launched a video encouraging families with children 12 and older to add COVID-19 vaccinations to their back-to-school preparations.

The Senate unanimously passed the AHA-supported Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (S. 610). A companion bill (H.R. 1667) introduced in the House in March awaits consideration.