News

Health care cybersecurity has too often been an afterthought, with protections added after an internal review or external attack discover a vulnerability, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told moderator former CNN Washington bureau chief Frank Sesno at today’s federal plenary session. 

AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack opened AHA’s Annual Membership Meeting by talking about three key messages that Congress needs to hear.  

Patients are facing difficulties accessing care, while hospitals struggle with workforce and administrative challenges arising from prior authorizations, paperwork and other burdens, according to a panel discussion Sunday focused on behavioral health. 

The future is in innovation, both in process and in thought, according to a panel of health care leaders at Sunday’s Evolving Systems of Care for the Future session at the AHA annual meeting.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Climate Change and Health Equity today released a resource to help the health sector find grants, loan programs and tax credits to invest in renewable energy and build resilient infrastructure.

The Rural Health Redesign Center helps interested critical access hospitals and rural hospitals with 50 or fewer beds transition to Medicare’s new Rural Emergency Hospital designation. Learn more about the designation and its payment implications in this podcast from AHA’s special series on rural care providers.

Memorial Hermann Health System, a nonprofit health system committed to creating healthier Houston communities, will receive the $100,000 Foster G. McGaw Prize April 24 at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C., for its leadership and breadth in building programs, services and initiatives that address the varied health needs of its patients and community.

A new issue brief from AHA’s Hospitals Against Violence initiative offers evidence-based tools and strategies to help hospitals and health systems assess violence risks and make the care environment safer.

The Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care, whose founding members include the AHA, Sunday will launch a national television ad, followed by digital ads and a social media push, urging Congress to reject proposals to reduce Medicare payments to hospitals.

Agencies in the U.S. and United Kingdom this week released an advisory detailing tactics used to exploit a known vulnerability in Cisco routers to deploy malware and recommendations to protect vulnerable Cisco devices.

Financial reserves play an important role for not-for-profit hospitals and health systems in ensuring that they can continue to serve their communities in the face of challenging operational and financial headwinds, according to a new report prepared for the AHA by Kaufman Hall.

Hospitals and health systems are facing many significant challenges, including historic workforce shortages, soaring costs of providing care, cracks in the supply chain, severe underpayment by Medicare and Medicaid, and overwhelming regulatory and administrative burdens, just to name a few. These challenges are jeopardizing access to care and services for patients and communities.

Health Services Research, the flagship publication of AHA’s Health Research & Educational Trust and an official journal of AcademyHealth, invites researchers to submit through July 17 abstracts highlighting scientific contributions and real-world impacts emanating from learning health systems

The Health Equity Roadmap, launched in March 2022 by the AHA's Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, has now crossed the 1,000-member mark in engaged participants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention April 19 recommended a second Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 bivalent vaccine dose for adults aged 65 and older at least four months after their initial bivalent dose, and for immunocompromised individuals at least two months after their initial bivalent dose.

After three years of unprecedented challenges caring for COVID-19 patients and others, America’s hospitals and health systems face a new existential challenge from the rising costs of care, according to a report released April 20 by the AHA.

AHA today voiced support for the Supporting Safety Net Hospitals Act (H.R. 2665), bipartisan legislation that would delay for two years cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospitals scheduled to begin Oct. 1.

AHA today applauded the reintroduction of the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act (H.R. 2584), bipartisan legislation that would give health care workers the same legal protections against assault and intimidation that flight crews and airport workers have under federal law.

The New Hampshire Hospital Association recently released a report highlighting the challenges New Hampshire hospitals and health systems face in dealing with Anthem, the state’s largest insurance provider, including nearly $300 million in unprocessed claims for services provided by New Hampshire hospitals.

On April 24 at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C., AHA will present its highest honor — the Distinguished Service Award — to Jim Skogsbergh, co-CEO of Advocate Health in Downers Grove, Ill., for his long career as a leader in health care transformation and innovation, patient safety and population health and his abiding commitment to the communities the health system serves.