Webinar prepares providers for PRF audits
Nearly $170 billion in provider relief fund payments were made to health care providers since the COVID-19 pandemic. With the funds expended, the Health Resources and Services Administration is beginning recipient audits.

The latest of IHA’s Fundamentals in Finance webinars will focus on the audits and the government agencies conducting them. Ben Fee, attorney with Hall Render, will lead the webinar. Participants will discuss:

• Preparing for audits.
• Strategies and best practices to navigate the audits.
• Types of provider relief funds.

The Provider Relief Fund Federal Audits are Here webinar is scheduled from 2-3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14. Email Corey Martin at IHA with questions.

Register for hospital board orientation webinar
Equipping new hospital trustees with information about board responsibilities is vital to success in their new role. The first of IHA’s Foundations of Governance Excellence virtual series is focusing on the board orientation process. Tracy Warner, a health care executive and governance subject-matter expert, will lead the webinar.

Participants will learn about:

• Best practices for new board member orientation.
• Comprehensive board orientation processes.
• Optimal contents of a board orientation manual.

The Board Orientation Reimagined webinar is scheduled from 2-3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19. Email Joah Hogan at IHA with questions.

CMS outlines timeline for Medicare drug price negotiations
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a memo and timeline outlining the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation program. CMS will negotiate prices with drug makers for certain high-cost, sole-source drugs and apply them in 2026. CMS plans to actively engage hospitals and other stakeholders in the policymaking process.

Complete incident command system survey by Feb. 28
The National Advisory Committee for the Hospital Incident Command System is encouraging hospitals and health systems to complete a survey about the system’s emergency management performance during the past few years. The goal of the survey is to identify potential improvement to the system. The Health Incident Command System is an incident management systems used by some hospitals and health systems to improve their emergency management planning, response and recovery. Surveys should be completed by Tuesday, Feb. 28.