News

The Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Dec. 10 recommended the approval of Pfizer, Inc.’s BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The panel voted 17-4, with one abstention, that FDA issue an emergency use authorization.

The AHA urged President-elect Biden to implement during his first 100 days in office urgent policy recommendations to ensure America’s hospitals can continue to fight the pandemic, recover and rebuild a better health care system for the future.

Benjamin Franklin said “energy and persistence conquers all things.” Those words are certainly appropriate for this year as we continue our battle against COVID-19. They also are very pertinent for the next week as we must keep the pressure on Congress to make sure they provide hospitals and health systems — and the women and men on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight — with additional support and resources.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule that seeks to streamline prior authorization processes implemented by health plans serving the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and federal Health Insurance Marketplace.

More than 3.8 million people selected a 2021 health plan through HealthCare.gov Nov. 1 to Dec. 5, including more than 915,000 last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the expansion of its effort to provide viewable, downloadable county-level data on health-related outcomes and chronic disease prevalence.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a request for applications from Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans to participate in the Value-Based Insurance Design Model, including its hospice benefit component, in calendar year 2022.

President-elect Joe Biden nominated former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. McDonough also previously served the Obama administration as deputy national security advisor.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights released a proposed rule that would modify HIPAA privacy standards for individually identifiable health information.

The Health Resources and Services Administration released its long-awaited final rule implementing an Affordable Care Act requirement that the agency establish a process to resolve disputes between 340B covered entities and drug manufacturers.

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting some individuals and communities much more than others, population health tools are more important than ever.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized LabCorp’s Pixel COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit for use by adults without a prescription.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated its FAQs regarding coverage, billing and payment for monoclonal antibody therapies used to treat COVID-19.

The Department of Defense announced a phased plan for the distribution and administration of initial and subsequent COVID-19 vaccine allocations to populations of DoD uniformed service members, including members of the National Guard; dependents; retirees; civilian employees; and select DoD contract personnel as authorized in accordance with agency regulation.

Peer-reviewed data for Pfizer Inc.’s BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate was published by the New England Journal of Medicine, confirming its safety and efficacy.

The Department of Health and Human Services updated its guidance to hospitals on the reporting of COVID-19-related data.

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated health inequities we face as a nation. But we’re also seeing innovation in all aspects of care delivery and community collaboration and partnerships to address these challenges. We know that the homes where people live and their support networks of family and friends influence people’s ability to stay healthy or recover quickly. Access to safe, affordable and stable housing is key to good health. Strong social connections are linked to longer life and better mental health, whereas a lack of such social ties is associated with depression and increased mortality.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announced two winners of its $50,000 cross-sectional innovation prize to improve rural postpartum mental health: St. Peter's Health in Helena, Mont., for its maternal mental health program that identifies at-risk individuals and connects women to resources and appropriate care early in pregnancy; and Pack Health in Birmingham, Ala., for its digital health coaching program to address postpartum depression.

The AHA and 114 other national organizations urged leaders from the House and Senate to swiftly pass the bipartisan Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act (H.R. 4995) and the bipartisan Helping MOMS Act of 2020 (H.R. 4996).

The House voted 343-67 to pass a continuing resolution that would generally extend current federal funding levels for health care and all other programs through Dec. 18.