Working Together for Accessible, Affordable Care
From birth to death, from critical injuries to elective surgeries, from crisis and disaster to community food banks and health improvement initiatives — Americans turn to their hospitals and health systems.
The blue-and-white “H” sign we see on the side of the road represents hope, healing and refuge. It also represents an enormous responsibility and acknowledgement that hospitals are the backbone of our nation’s health care system and unique in the vast scope of services they provide simultaneously.
Today’s headlines are filled with stories of people worried about the rising cost of life’s essentials, like food, gas, housing, education and health care. Let there be no doubt: America’s hospitals and health systems are deeply committed to providing high quality, accessible and affordable care.
House Affordability Hearing
Earlier this week I testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health at a hearing titled “Lowering Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the U.S. Provider Landscape.”
It was an important opportunity to share with lawmakers how across the country, hospitals are already tackling the affordability issue by increasing efficiencies, adopting innovative technologies and rethinking how they deliver care.
Hospitals Investing in Care Improvements
Hospitals 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. This helps to improve outcomes and lower costs for patients, families and the entire health care system.
Hospitals are using new technologies, including telehealth, remote monitoring and digital tools, to promote more convenient access to care, while electronic health records and data-driven care models help clinicians catch problems earlier and coordinate treatment more effectively.
Meanwhile, hospitals remain incubators of breakthroughs in science and technology that turn discovery into healing.
Costs of Caring
But we know there is more work to do. As we discuss ways to lower costs and protect access to care, it is important that lawmakers understand the reality of the financial pressures hospitals and health systems are facing today.
They have substantial fixed costs to maintain the specialized services, high cost equipment, and a fully staffed, 24/7 care environment that remains ready to handle anything and everything.
As shown in the AHA’s recent Costs of Caring report, hospitals also are balancing rising costs across the board, many of which are completely outside their control. This includes treating sicker, more medically complex patients while confronting a payment system that is increasingly misaligned with the realities of delivering care.
Improving Value and Affordability
Looking ahead, hospitals are offering meaningful solutions for how the U.S. health care system can make demonstrable improvements in value and affordability. These focus 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.
Specific examples in each of these categories are included in our statement to the E&C Health Subcommittee, and we continue to solicit feedback and ideas from members.
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.
As we work to address these issues, our dedicated doctors, nurses and care teams will continue doing what they do best: delivering healing and hope to advance health in America.