At House hearing, AHA shares solutions to make health care more affordable 

America’s hospitals and health systems are deeply committed to providing high-quality, accessible and affordable care, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack March 18 told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health during a hearing focused on lowering health care costs. 

Pollack shared several efforts that hospitals are leading to make care more affordable, including increasing efficiencies, adopting innovative technologies and rethinking how they deliver care. 

“Many are investing in preventive care and care coordination programs that help patients better manage chronic diseases, avoid unnecessary hospital visits and stay healthier at home,” Pollack said. “These efforts improve outcomes, and they help lower costs for patients, families and the entire health care system.” 

During the hearing, Pollack also discussed the current environment hospitals face, including rising costs across the board to provide care; treating sicker patients; and dealing with administrative burdens from large commercial insurers that disrupt patient care, add enormous cost and keep clinicians from caring for patients. 

“All of this is happening within a payment system that is increasingly misaligned with the realities of delivering care, particularly government reimbursement that is less than the cost of providing care,” Pollack said. 

Pollack also said that there is more work to do to make health care more affordable for Americans and outlined several solutions focused on improving the health of individuals and communities; advancing value through care transformation; reducing regulatory and administrative waste; and innovating to improve care quality and outcomes. 

“We also know that to truly make care affordable for Americans, all stakeholders, including government, commercial health insurers, drug companies, providers and patients, must work together,” Pollack said. 

This was the third in a series of hearings the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hosted this year on health care affordability. Other witnesses at today’s hearing, which focused on health care providers, were from the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, Purchaser Business Group on Health, University of California San Francisco Health, and American Network of Community Options and Resources.  

The first two hearings focused on commercial health insurers and the prescription drug supply chain.