AHA supports bipartisan legislation to ease hospital staff shortages. AHA today voiced support for the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (H.R. 2255/S. 1024), bipartisan legislation that would expedite the visa authorization process for qualified international nurses to support hospitals facing staffing shortages.
Letters
Throughout the year, the AHA comments on a vast number of proposed and interim final rules put forth by the federal regulatory agencies. In addition, AHA communicates with federal legislators to convey the hospital field's position on potential legislative changes that would impact patients and patient care. Below are the most recent letters from the AHA to these bodies.
Latest
The American Hospital Association urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to apply its recently increased Medicare payment rates for COVID-19 vaccine administration services retroactively.
Members of the House and Senate Telehealth Caucus recently introduced the CONNECT for Health Act (S.1512/H.R. 2903), AHA-supported legislation that would permanently remove all geographic restrictions on Medicare telehealth services and expand originating sites to include home and other sites.
The AHA urge leaders of the House Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to consider the potential effect their health care funding decisions for fiscal year 2022 will have on hospitalsā ability to care for their patients and communities and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other ongoing challenges. View the entire letter under Key Resources.
The AHAĀ urge leaders of the HouseĀ Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to consider the potential effect their health care funding decisions for fiscal year 2022 will have on hospitalsā ability to care for their patients and communities and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other ongoing challenges.
The AHA shares with Senate and House leaders the associationās recommendations for infrastructure investments that should be included in an upcoming legislative package to ensure hospitals and health systems are fully equipped to care for their communities now and into the future, as well as respond to any future public health emergency.
The AHA and five other health care organizations sent the attached letter to HHS Secretary Becerra urging him to stop the actions of six drug companies that are denying 340B discounts on prescription drugs sold to hospitals treating a large percentage of low-income and rural Americans.
The AHA appreciatesĀ the recent flexibility around survey activities provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
In a letter toĀ Representatives Terri SewellĀ and Vern Buchanan the AHA expresses support ofĀ theĀ Resetting the Impact Act (TRIA) of 2021.
Fourteen organizations, including the AHA, urgeĀ the Department of Health and Human Services to extend the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model through 2022, and create a permanent full-risk ACO option based on it for the future.