Rick Pollack, President and CEO, AHA
Articles
Access & Health Coverage
Congress has headed home for its traditional August recess. That tradition began, by the way, as a sensible concession to Washington, D.C.鈥檚 steamy summer climate, long before central air conditioning came to Capitol Hill in 1938.
Commercial Insurer Accountability, Quality & Patient Safety, Cost Management
Hospitals and health systems recognize the importance of commercial health insurance, which millions of Americans rely on to receive coverage. Unfortunately, some commercial insurer policies may hurt patients, contribute to clinician burnout and drive up the cost of care.
Leadership
At this summer鈥檚 AHA Leadership Summit, senior health care executives, clinicians and experts shared state-of-the-art thinking on conquering the challenges facing our field and bold ideas for transforming health care in our country.
Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19), COVID-19: Coverage and Reimbursement
One important learning from the two-and-a-half-year COVID-19 pandemic is that the public health emergency (PHE) waivers made an enormous difference for hospitals and health systems.
Community Benefit, Community Partnerships, Population/Community Health, Promoting Healthy Communities
Beyond administering life-saving medical care to individual patients, all hospitals provide incomparable value to their communities by opening their doors to everyone who needs care, as well as working in partnership with others to improve and sustain the health of all of those in their communities.
Commercial Insurer Accountability
Delaying and denying authorizations for medically necessary care. Forcing patients to try potentially ineffective treatments through step therapy, or 鈥渇ail first鈥 protocols that require patients to try and fail certain treatments before the insurer will authorize more costly treatments.
Community Benefit, Medicare, COVID-19: Caring for Patients and Communities
All hospitals and health systems, regardless of size, location and type of ownership, are deeply dedicated to caring for their patients and communities in a wide variety of ways. A report from May by the respected accounting firm EY demonstrates that for every dollar invested in non-profit hospitals and health systems through the federal tax exemption, nearly $9 in benefits is delivered back to communities.
Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS), Outpatient Prospective Payment Systems (OPPS)
we are deeply concerned that last week鈥檚 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed rule would increase Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system rates by just 2.7% in calendar year 2023 compared to 2022. Given the current historic rates of inflation and continued labor and supply cost pressures, a much higher update is warranted.
Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS), Medicare, Advocacy & Public Policy
The AHA has been making the case to CMS urging it to adjust the market-basket update to account for the unprecedented inflationary environment hospitals and health systems are experiencing, and eliminate the productivity cut. We also have asked Congress to weigh in with the agency to make these changes in its final regulation.
Cost Management, Commercial Insurer Accountability
America鈥檚 hospitals and health systems are facing a crisis: a tsunami of financial challenges that are exerting tremendous pressure on their ability to deliver care.