At AHA advocacy event, Congress urged to provide support to hospitals in upcoming legislation

Hundreds of hospital and health system leaders today participated in an AHA virtual advocacy briefing to hear the latest from Capitol Hill and urge Congress to support hospitals and caregivers as part of a must-pass legislative package this month. AHA Board Chair Wright L. Lassiter III welcomed participants to the briefing, and AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack, AHA Executive Vice President Stacey Hughes and other AHA senior leaders briefed attendees on the state of play in Washington, D.C., and COVID-19 developments. Hospital leaders urged Congress to: quickly disperse remaining funding from the Provider Relief Fund and add $25 billion; extend Medicare sequester relief; give hospitals more time to repay accelerated and advance Medicare payments; and provide relief to certain 340B hospitals so they can remain eligible for the program. For more details on these issues, as well as sample messages and digital tools, see AHA’s Jan. 31 Action Alert.