Public Health

The U.S. Senate has passed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization, which reauthorizes several programs that fund emergency preparedness activities, according to an AHA News Now report.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that New Hampshire is the first state to receive a new Medicaid grant to expand community services for the elderly and people with disabilities.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has granted Louisiana State University and Tulane University nearly $4 million in funding to repair health facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina, according to a Times-Picayune report.

Inadequate reimbursements for government-sponsored health programs, an aging population, a widening proportion of low-income residents and high-income earners and "substantial" state budget complications are some of the biggest reasons California hospitals will be facing significant downward pressures this year, according…

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is providing insurance to nearly 50,000 people with high-risk pre-existing conditions, according to a news release from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation has released the draft of the national plan to address Alzheimer's disease.

Twelve state attorneys general filed an amicus brief (pdf) with the Supreme Court in support of the healthcare reform law's expansion of the Medicaid program.

A study by the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council found emergency room visits have increased by more than 2 percent from 2010 to 2011, which may reflect an increase in the number of people without insurance, according to a CBS report.

The American Hospital Association and five other hospital organizations have filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the expansion of Medicaid under healthcare reform, according to an AHA News Now report.

If the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is eliminated, insurance coverage would drop, but individuals' premiums would increase only slightly, according to a Rand Corporation study.