News

The House Ways and Means Committee today passed the Economic Mobility Act (H.R. 3300), tax legislation that includes an AHA-supported provision to repeal a costly tax code change in how non-profit employers such as hospitals must account for transportation and parking fringe benefits for employees.

The House of Representatives yesterday voted 226-203 to approve a package of four appropriations bills for fiscal year 2020, which includes legislation that would provide $189.9 billion in base discretionary funding for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and related agencies.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health today held a hearing on expiring supplemental Medicaid funding for American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Norwegian American Hospital Foundation last night presented its first Power of Community Health Care Champion Award to AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack at its 2019 Power of Community Benefit.

Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., today introduced the Lower Health Care Costs Act (S.1895), legislation to prevent surprise medical bills, reduce prescription drug prices, improve transparency in health care, invest in public health and improve health information exchange.

The House of Representatives last night passed legislation (H.R. 3253) that includes an AHA-supported provision that would extend the Community Mental Health Services demonstration through 2021.

Aligning for Health voiced support for legislation to improve the collection of data related to the social determinants of health for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday held a public workshop to assess the impact of certificates of public advantage on prices, quality, access, and innovation for health care services.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform today held the third in a series of hearings examining solutions to the opioid epidemic, which focused on the adequacy of the federal response and on legislation to expand access to evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions today held a hearing on the Lower Health Care Costs Act, its draft legislation to prevent surprise medical bills, reduce prescription drug prices, improve transparency in health care, invest in public health and improve health information exchange.

The Fund for Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation late yesterday announced that the government will settle backlogged Medicare inpatient rehabilitation facility appeals, a central demand in the AHA’s successful litigation to tackle the overall Medicare appeals backlog.

AHA today submitted comments on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ fiscal year 2020 proposed rule for the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system.

AHA said it generally supports the reforms to update the payment system, but expressed concern with the substantial redistribution of cases under the payment model proposed for FY 2020.

The AHA said it is generally supportive of the overall concept of the agreement and agency’s goal to create a voluntary network-of-networks that would enable hospitals to join one network and access all of their trading partners.

The AHA today commended the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for issuing proposed guidance to clarify ligature risk requirements and urged the agency to consider additional clarifying language.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Friday issued its June report to Congress, which includes several recommendations approved by the panel during its January and March meetings.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar today announced he will promote Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Judy Stecker to additionally serve as deputy chief of staff for operations and strategy, effective upon her return from maternity leave.

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The AHA commented today on the Stopping the Outrageous Practice of Surprise Medical Bills (S. 1531), legislation developed by the Senate Bipartisan Working Group to address surprise medical bills.

The departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury yesterday finalized a rule that will allow employers to use health reimbursement arrangements to pay a portion of the premiums.