Issues & Trends
American Hospital Association content on issues and trends in the health care field.
The Ebola outbreak exposed major gaps in the nation’s ability to manage serious infectious disease threats, according to a report from Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Half of states and Washington, D.C., scored five or lower out of 10 key indicators…
As the U.S. population ages and lives longer, the trajectory of Medicare per capita spending is shifting, according to a study in Health Affairs. The age at which Medicare per capita spending peaked rose from 92 in 2000 to 96 in 2011. The average spending for beneficiaries age 96 in 2011 was $16,…
This is 14 percent more than all hospitals with an organized quality improvement program that responded to the November 2014 American Hospital Association Survey of Care Systems and Payment. Hospitals use these programs to teach clinical leaders continuous quality improvement methods and team…
After years of preparation, nine rural hospitals and physician groups form an accountable care organization to focus on prevention.
Americans’ rates of obesity and physical inactivity rose in 2014, according to “America’s Health Rankings,” which is published by United Health Foundation. The obesity rate climbed from 27.6 to 29.4 percent of adults, and the percentage of adults who reported not…
Workers are spending more of their income on their employer-sponsored health insurance, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund. While premiums rose 60 percent between 2003 and 2013, incomes grew only 11 percent. Workers contributed 21 percent on average to their employer health plan…
American Hospital Association president and CEO Rich Umbdenstock announced that he will retire at the end of this year. The AHA board of trustees has formed a search committee and engaged Korn Ferry to conduct the search for his successor. AHA Chair-elect Jim Skogsbergh, president and CEO of…
Snapshot In 2015, trustees will see last year’s cost and quality pressures continue. At the same time, they should develop closer relationships with all the providers along the continuum of care.