Watch the video

Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-ME) accepted the AHA Honorary Life Membership Award for her contributions to hospitals and health care in America. Collins, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Aging and is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has regularly worked in a bipartisan manner to advocate for common sense, meaningful policies that promote access to care. 
 
During her address, Collins said that without congressional action insurance rates in the individual markets will “skyrocket this fall, and this will directly hurt the 9 million Americans who pay for their own insurance without government or employer assistance.” She said that we must “work together across party lines to develop health care reforms that work for all Americans.” 

[For additional highlights from the AHA Annual Membership meeting, click here.] 

Collins referenced recent congressional proposals to appropriate $10 billion a year from 2019 to 2021 to extend cost-sharing reductions and reinsurance for the individual health insurance market would expand health coverage to an additional 3.2 million people and lower premiums by at least 40%, according to an analysis by consultants at Oliver Wyman. She also discussed the Lower Premiums Through Reinsurance Act (S. 1835), which she introduced with Sen. Bill Nelson. 

 

Collins also spoke passionately about the need to support small rural hospitals.
 
AHA board member Michelle Hood, president and CEO of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, and former AHA board member Kris Doody, CEO of Cary Medical Center presented Collins with the award. 

Related News Articles

Headline
The AHA today responded to a Department of Health and Human Services request for information regarding lawful regulation and innovation to promote better…
Headline
Fairview Health Services, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit health system of 10 hospitals and medical centers serving the greater Twin Cities metro area and north-…
Headline
The Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award honors rural hospitals that are leading the way in innovative, sustainable and community-centered care. If…
Headline
AHA’s Circle of Life Award celebrates innovation in palliative and end-of-life care and seeks to provide best practices and models for the field. Programs and…
Headline
The AHA encourages hospitals and health systems that are committed to leadership and innovation in improving quality and advancing health to apply for its 2026…
Headline
The AHA July 3 released the Health Care Plan Accountability Update for the second quarter of 2025. The update covers the latest developments in Medicare…