Speaking with One Voice to Advance Health in America

Two days from now, the AHA will welcome more than 1,000 health care leaders to our 2026 Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C.

This yearly gathering serves many important purposes. It is an opportunity to hear from key policymakers, newsmakers and influencers (you can view the speaker lineup) and check out this recent column for more details; stay on top of political and public policy developments that affect us all; and trade ideas and renew friendships with colleagues from across the nation.

Uniting the Field Ahead of the AHA Annual Membership Meeting

Perhaps most important, the conference gives us the opportunity as a field to make sure we are on the same page and share a unified and cohesive message with lawmakers as we work to ensure we can continue to deliver the quality care that patients need. 

The timing of our presence and voice in Washington is especially important this year. Health care affordability remains in the spotlight. Congress is discussing the prospects of one or two more reconciliation packages this year, even as we are asking them to examine the overreach and mitigate certain health care provisions from last year’s package. And we are 199 days from the midterm elections, which, no matter how the results play out, will affect the legislative agenda for the rest of 2026 and beyond.

Three Priority Messages for Lawmakers in 2026

As hospital and health system leaders head up to meet with their lawmakers on Capitol Hill, we are urging members to zero in on three priority messages for congressional action:

Protect Access to Care

Urge lawmakers to enact key efforts that support patients’ health  and reject policies that would reduce access to care. These include rejecting harmful changes to the 340B program and so-called site-neutral payments, as well as enacting efforts to mitigate Medicaid reductions and coverage losses, support rural hospitals and increase insurer accountability.

Advance Affordability Solutions

Share how your organization is already working to make care more affordable and efficient for patients. Highlight what goes into the costs of caring for patients 24/7 and offer solutions to enhance affordability across the health care system.

Strengthen the Workforce

Describe the challenges facing the health care workforce and provide actions to support care teams today and in the future. We’ll share more details on each of these next week, but the connective thread is we need to tell the hospital story. We cannot assume lawmakers know about the incredible work that hospital teams do every single day to support patients and communities.

Empowering Hospital Leaders to Advocate Effectively

To help hospital and health system leaders educate their elected officials and candidates for office, both in person and year-round, we offer several resources on key issues through our AHA Advocacy Action Center and our We Care, We Vote websites. These information sources offer key insights and messaging, and when we all speak with one voice, it creates an echo chamber that helps elevate attention to our issues.

Hospital and health system leaders, as well as the millions of women and men who deliver healing, hope and health every day to patients and communities, are truly the best advocates with your legislators. You live, work and, most importantly — especially in an election year — vote in their districts. Lawmakers and candidates for office are paying attention, and now is the time to make sure our story is heard.

We have a lot of work ahead. And while that work will be challenging, we also have a great opportunity to make our collective voice heard; to bolster support for hospitals and caregivers; and to advance health in America for patients and communities.