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A Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General proposal to change drug discount safe harbors under the federal anti-kickback statute would likely increase premiums for Medicare beneficiaries without addressing the nation’s high and rising drug prices, the AHA said.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response seeks stakeholder input through April 26 on a proposed National Disaster Pediatric Initiative to enhance the nation’s pediatric care capability during disasters.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Innovation Center must provide transparency, predictability and timely data to help support providers participating in value-based payment arrangements, Adam Boehler, director of the center, said today.

In the midst of tremendous change happening in health care, “we have the opportunity – perhaps the opportunity of a lifetime – to shape the future of our field, to create a healthier tomorrow so that our families, friends and neighbors receive the best care,” AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said today kicking off the AHA Annual Meeting Federal Forum plenary.

Addressing the AHA Annual Membership Meeting today, Eric Hargan, deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, focused on the importance of regulatory reform and innovation to advancing valued-based care.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, told attendees at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting that their efforts helped families "get through real health challenges.”

Supporting access to care in rural communities and reining in escalating drug prices are two areas that have bipartisan support and could see legislative action in a divided government, AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels said today in a conversation with Frank Sesno, former CNN anchor and Washington bureau chief.

As AHA chairman, Gragnolati said it is a privilege to travel around the country and talk with members about access, affordability and inclusion in communities while “working alongside all of you to advance health in America.”

The AHA yesterday and today held a number of number of Executive Insight Sessions focused on some of the most compelling and important issues facing hospital and health system leaders. Highlights of yesterday’s sessions are below.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission today voted to recommend that Congress direct the Health and Human Services secretary to develop and implement by 2022 a set of national guidelines for coding hospital emergency department visits.

The Department of Health and Human Services “effectively admits” that its goal in reducing payments for hospital outpatient clinic visit services furnished in off-campus provider-based departments grandfathered under Section 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 was to address a policy concern that Congress has already addressed through a different legislative solution, the AHA and other hospital plaintiffs told a federal district court today.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will address attendees at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting on Tuesday, April 9 during the Federal Forum.

The Food and Drug Administration plans to revise its 2016 draft compounding guidance for hospital and health system pharmacies.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week extended the deadline to comment on their proposed rule updating proficiency testing and referral requirements under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments from April 5 to June 4.

Employment at the nation's hospitals rose by 0.26 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted 5,223,400 people.

WEDI, a public-private coalition of health information technology stakeholders including the AHA, will host its 2019 Spring Conference May 20-22 in San Diego.

The AHA has always been for common-sense policies that make it easier for patients to access care and for hospitals and health systems to deliver that care – and this will never change.

Medicare patients who receive care in a hospital outpatient department clinic are more likely to be poor, previously hospitalized and have severe chronic conditions than those treated in an ambulatory surgical center, according to a study by KNG Health Consulting released today by the AHA.

Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., yesterday reintroduced  the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act (H.R. 2062), AHA-supported legislation that would align 42 CFR Part 2, federal regulations governing the confidentiality of substance use disorder treatment and prevention records, with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations, and strengthen patient protections. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., have reintroduced companion legislation (S. 1012), the Protecting Jessica Grubb’s Legacy Act. 

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce yesterday passed a number of AHA-supported bills that would lower prescription drug costs and strengthen the Affordable Care Act marketplaces to improve access and lower the cost of coverage for consumers.