At two Senate hearings, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra presented the Biden administration's health care budget. In a joint statement, America's Essential Hospitals and other organizations raised concerns about a new alliance between drug companies and community health centers.

FDA announces that children aged 6 months through 4 years old who completed primary monovalent COVID-19 vaccination are now eligible to receive a bivalent booster dose, while agency advisers vote in favor of full Paxlovid approval.

To exclude 340B drugs from Medicare Part B inflation rebates required by the Inflation Reduction Act, providers must identify 340B drugs on Medicare claims. 

The decision comes after HHS halted payment determinations following a February court ruling vacating certain provisions of the No Surprises Act.

America's Essential Hospitals has responded to a request for information (RFI) on health care workforce shortages by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The association also plans to respond to an RFI on reauthorizing the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act.

The guide tailors the 2018 National Institute of Standards and Technology Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity to the health sector.

The report reviews how COVID-19 public health emergency policies affected hospital finances and includes state-specific projections for the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital funding cuts scheduled to take effect Oct. 1.

Per the Inflation Reduction Act, drug manufacturers that increase prices faster than the inflation rate will be required to pay rebates to Medicare.

FDA announced March 10 that it will withdraw and revise several COVID-19 guidance documents, including emergency use authorization of surgical masks, as circumstances surrounding the virus evolve.

America's Essential Hospitals and other groups, in a letter to congressional leaders, urge lawmakers to avert an $8 billion cut Oct. 1 to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital funding. President Biden's proposed budget includes measures to protect Medicare.

The agency proposes to limit the types of patient days associated with Section 1115 waivers that are included in the Medicaid fraction of the hospital’s disproportionate patient percentage.

The updated guidance highlights the importance of sustaining a QAPI program over time and increasing engagement by the hospital’s governing body.

The voluntary pledge asks institutions to commit to reducing emissions, taking inventory of scope 3 emissions, and developing climate resilience plans.

A bivalent vaccine that protects against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza will not be available this year, while a CDC advisory committee says there is not enough evidence to recommend more than one annual COVID-19 booster for immunocompromised people.

Key health committees in the House and Senate issue requests for information — one on reauthorizing the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act and another to examine health care workforce shortages.

Two proposed rules would extend many flexible provisions enacted during the COVID-19 public health emergency for prescribing controlled substances.

States may start initiating Medicaid renewals between February and April and terminating enrollment for individuals who no longer qualify as early as April 1.

The U.S. House and Senate Committees on Appropriations are accepting appropriations requests for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations process.

The proposed rule implements Section 203 of the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, altering the rules for considering the costs and payments associated with Medicare and commercial dually eligible patients when calculating a hospital’s Medicaid DSH uncompensated care limit.

Applications close May 31 for the two-year extension of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced voluntary payment model.

More than 70 Policy Assembly attendees visited congressional offices to share association priorities, including eliminating $16 billion in Medicaid DSH cuts over the next two fiscal years, protecting the 340B Drug Pricing Program, and establishing a federal designation for essential hospitals.

CMS proposes to limit the types of Medicaid Section 1115 waiver days that can be included when calculating a hospital’s disproportionate patient percentage.

FDA authorizes the first at-home nasal test that detects influenza A and B as well as COVID-19; Moderna reaches a $400 million agreement with the National Institutes of Health.

Unless Congress acts, $32 billion in DSH cuts over the next four years will undermine essential hospitals and could push some to the brink. The scheduled DSH cuts include an $8 billion reduction on October 1, 2023 — more than two-thirds of all federal DSH spending annually.

Our proposal would codify a designation of essential hospitals in statute, allowing lawmakers to better target support to improve access to care and public health.

The 340B program continues to work as Congress intended. America’s Essential Hospitals urges Congress and the administration to protect the 340B program and ensure all stakeholders comply with the law.