AHA’s Hughes discusses advocacy priorities and key messages for Capitol Hill

Stacey Hughes, AHA’s executive vice president for government relations and public policy, discussed key messages that hospital and health system leaders should share with their lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week.  

They include reject funding cuts and extend key policies to ensure patients’ access to care; support and strengthen the health care workforce; hold commercial insurers accountable for practices that delay, deny and disrupt care; and bolster support to enhance cybersecurity of hospitals and the entire health care system.

Hughes talked about how Congress must pass or extend a number of policies that expire at the end of the year. These include policies on telehealth and hospital-at-home, and key programs that support access to care in rural areas.  

In addition, she spoke about the importance of getting cosponsors for the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 2584/S. 2768), which would provide federal protections for health care workers similar to those that apply to aircraft and airport workers, to bolster support for getting it passed this year.