(Click to read AHA News newspaper stories)




Trying to find a story from a past AHA NewsNow? Use the button below to search the NewsNow archives by date or key word.
Tomorrow's AHA Health Reform Webcast canceled   02/08/2010
The AHA Health Reform Update Interactive Webcast scheduled for tomorrow has been canceled. More Webcasts may be added as events warrant. The members-only Webcasts provide up-to-the minute information and analysis on health care reform legislation in Washington and how it might affect hospitals. Future Webcast dates will be posted at www.aha.org.
HHS awards ARRA prevention grants    02/08/2010
The Department of Health and Human Services Friday awarded U.S. states and territories more than $119 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants to fight obesity and smoking and promote exercise and good nutrition. The Communities Putting Prevention to Work grants will support healthy choices through media campaigns, environmental changes, tobacco quit-lines and other methods.
NH cuts Medicaid payments to hospitals   02/08/2010
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Friday unveiled a plan to reduce hospital Medicaid payments by $6.3 million in fiscal year 2010 and nearly $21 million in FY 2011 to address projected budget shortfalls due to increased enrollment in Medicaid and other aid programs. Those totals include both state Medicaid cuts and the resulting loss of federal matching funds. "Medicaid reimbursement fails to cover the cost of the care hospitals provide," said New Hampshire Hospital Association President Steve Ahnen. "In balancing the budget on the backs of hospitals, the state continues to ask hospitals to do more with less. Hospitals face their own challenges as they strive to meet the needs of their patients and communities in spite of current economic strains."
Panel calls for reducing barriers to colorectal cancer screening   02/05/2010
An independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health this week recommended removing financial barriers to colorectal cancer screening and other strategies to increase national screening rates. Although screening rates in the target population of adults over age 50 have roughly doubled since 1997, to about 55%, the panel said targeted initiatives to improve screening rates could further reduce colorectal cancers and deaths. The panel found that insurance coverage and access to a regular health care provider are the most important factors associated with being screened, and highlighted the need to remove out-of-pocket costs for screening tests. Given the variety of tests available, the panel emphasized that informed decisions incorporating personal preferences may help reluctant individuals identify and obtain the most palatable test, among other recommendations.
Next AHA Health Reform Webcast canceled   02/05/2010
The AHA Health Reform Update Interactive Webcast scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Feb. 9 has been canceled. More Webcasts may be added as events warrant. The members-only Webcasts provide up-to-the minute information and analysis on health care reform legislation in Washington and how it might affect hospitals. Future Webcast dates will be posted at www.aha.org.
Hospital employment climbs 0.11% in January   02/05/2010
Employment at the nation's hospitals rose 0.11% in January to a seasonally adjusted 4,698,700 people, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. That's 5,000 more people than in December and 28,300 more than a year ago. Without the seasonal adjustment, which removes the effect of fluctuations due to seasonal events, hospitals employed 4,691,400 people in January, 9,200 fewer than in December but 28,800 more than a year ago. The nation's overall unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage point in January to 9.7%.
Recession, flu increase U.S. health spending in 2009   02/04/2010
National spending for health care is projected to grow 5.7% in 2009 to $2.5 trillion, or 17.3% of gross domestic product, according to a report released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Contributing to the increase are a 9.9% increase in Medicaid spending associated with the recession, an expected increase in the take-up rate for COBRA coverage, and treatment for the H1N1 flu. Medicare spending growth is projected to slow to 8.1% in 2009 from 8.6% in 2008, partly due to slower growth in hospital spending. In 2010, health care spending growth is expected to slow to 3.9%, 4.7% if Congress eliminates a scheduled 21.3% cut in Medicare payment rates for physicians. By 2019, national health spending is expected to reach $4.5 trillion and 19.3% of GDP. The public share of health care spending is expected to rise to 52% by 2019 from 47% in 2008.
HHS: 2.6 million more children served by CHIP, Medicaid in 2009   02/04/2010
An estimated 2.6 million previously uninsured children have been served by Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program since the CHIP Reauthorization Act was signed into law last February, the Department of Health and Human Services reported today. On the one-year anniversary, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a five-year campaign to challenge federal officials, governors, mayors, community organizations, tribal leaders and faith-based organizations to enroll the nearly 5 million children eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but not yet enrolled. As part of the challenge, HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will encourage state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (formerly the food stamp program) to work with their state Medicaid and CHIP programs to share data and identify potentially eligible children. 
CMS: Only physician fee schedule services require advanced imaging accreditation    02/04/2010
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is reassuring hospitals that they do not have to become accredited to furnish the technical component of advanced diagnostic imaging services. Some hospitals began to query CMS about the issue after the agency published a Jan. 26 notice approving three organizations to accredit suppliers of the technical component of advanced diagnostic imaging services under the Medicare physician fee schedule. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 requires these suppliers to become accredited by a designated accreditation organization by Jan. 1, 2012. The requirement does not apply to advanced imaging services paid under Medicare's hospital inpatient and outpatient prospective payment systems.
IL Supreme Court rules state's liability reform law unconstitutional   02/04/2010
The Illinois Supreme Court today struck down the state's 2005 medical liability reform law, declaring its cap on non-economic damages unconstitutional. "The Illinois Hospital Association is disappointed that the Illinois Supreme Court has struck down critically needed medical liability reforms that were improving health care access throughout the state and restoring predictability to our broken medical liability system," said IHA President Maryjane Wurth, commenting on the court's ruling in the case (Lebron v. Gottlieb). "…This decision and its dire repercussions for the health care delivery system highlight the critical need for the President and Congress to embrace serious and meaningful medical liability reform as part of health care reform." In 2008, the AHA joined the IHA in filing an amicus brief urging the court to uphold the constitutionality of the state law.







AHA.org     Healthforum.com     Health Forum Journal     Health Facilities Management    
Materials Management     Trustee     Hospitals & Health Networks      Buyers' Guide