Congress urged to protect hospital care

As Congress prepares to address a physician payment fix at the end of March, hospital leaders Feb. 26 urged their lawmakers to reject cuts to payments for hospital care that would limit patients’ access to care. “Lawmakers need to know that cuts are not reform,” said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock, who hosted today’s AHA Advocacy Day briefing in Washington, D.C., which also was broadcast online. In meetings on Capitol Hill, hospital leaders told Congress to reject proposals that would reimburse hospitals the same amount as physician offices or ambulatory surgical centers, as hospitals face more regulatory demands and treat sicker patients; as well as proposals that would reduce funding for graduate medical education, bad debt, critical access hospitals and other programs. In addition, hospital leaders pressed lawmakers to extend crucial programs important to rural health care and provide relief from harmful policies, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ two-midnight policy and recovery audit contractors.