News

The cigarette smoking rate among U.S. adults dropped to 9.9% in 2024, the lowest level ever recorded, according to a report by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare March 18 launched a new ad highlighting harmful practices by large corporate health insurers that drive up health care costs and create barriers to care.

America’s hospitals and health systems are deeply committed to providing high quality, accessible and affordable care, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack March 18 told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health during a hearing focused on lowering health care costs. 

A study published by BMJ found that glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs could help reduce the risk of various substance use disorders, including for alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, cocaine and opioids.

House lawmakers March 17 introduced the Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act, a bipartisan bill that would exempt foreign-trained health care workers from the $100,000 H-1B visa filing fee established by a presidential proclamation in September 2025.

“Hospitals are the heart of communities across America for one fundamental reason: They support patients whenever, wherever and however they need care,” writes AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack in an advertorial published March 17 in The Wall Street Journal.

The AHA March 16 responded to a request for information on diagnostic imaging interoperability from the Assistant Secretary for Health Information Technology/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services March 16 announced it will transition later this year to a new centralized platform for managi

The AHA March 15 unveiled a new digital ad spotlighting hospitals and health systems as the place where compassion and medicine come together. “There’s one place where hope, healing and health can be found. Your local hospital,” the ad declares. The campaign will appear on national and Washington, D.C., cable networks, as well as across digital and streaming platforms.

The American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and nine other medical associations March 13 released updated guidelines on managing cholesterol that include lowering the age to begin screening and treatment from age 40 to 30.

The Health Sector Coordinating Council Cyber Working Group and Health-ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) will host a joint cybersecurity event July 21-22 for health care and public health entities focusing on cyber incident response and recovery.

An encore episode of the AHA’s Advancing Health podcast features Duke University and its efforts to close hypertension disparities by integrating community health workers, student ambassadors and local clinics. 

The Environmental Protection Agency March 13 released a proposed rule to revise and rescind requirements on emissions from commercial facilities that sterilize medical devices and other equipment using ethylene oxide gas.

The AHA commented March 13 on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027. 

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission March 12 released its March 2026 report to Cong

There have been 1,362 confirmed measles cases nationwide this year, according to the latest data published today by

The AHA will host a webinar March 19 at 1 p.m. ET that will explore how leaders are improving retention, physician well-being and coverage stability. Attendees will learn strategies to identify early workforce risks, support sustainable staffing models and maintain clinical continuity

This week, the AHA released an updated Costs of Caring report, which provides a data-driven assessment of the structural drivers of hospital care cost growth.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services March 11 issued guidance to state survey agency directors clarifying and reinforcing the roles and responsibilities of organ procurement organizations and hospitals in organ procurement and transplantation.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission March 12 released its March 2026 report to Congress.