Ashley Thompson, AHA Senior Vice President, Public Policy Analysis and Development
Articles
Long-Term Care PPS, Long-term Care, Nurses, Workforce, Workforce Supply and Demand
AHA Statement on Proposed Rule on Minimum Staffing in Nursing Homes
The AHA strongly believes that a skilled, caring workforce is integral to delivery of high quality, safe care. At the same time, safe staffing is about much more than a number. We are concerned that in proposing a one-size-fits-all numerical staffing threshold, CMS would remove the role of clinical judgment in staffing facilities, and inadvertently create patient access challenges across the health care system.
Medicare, Setting the Record Straight
Out of Touch with Reality: Pushing Back on Editorial in The Washington Post Calling for Medicare Cuts to Hospitals and Health Systems
The editorial board of The Washington Post has published an opinion piece calling for payment cuts to hospitals and health systems as part of efforts to stabilize the Medicare program. The editorial calls for adopting so-called site-neutral payment policies, decreasing federal payments to teaching hospitals and reducing coverage of bad debt to 25%.
Medicare, Setting the Record Straight
MedPAC’s March Report Misses the Mark
Earlier this month the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its annual March report on the commission’s recommendations for Fiscal Year 2024 Medicare payment updates. Some recent media articles have lazily used the report to suggest that “hospitals’ financial situations are not nearly as dire as industry groups are making them out to be.”
Metropolitan Anchor Hospital (MAH), Access to Care in Vulnerable Communities, Reducing Healthcare Disparities
New NORC Report Details Financial Pressures & Critical Role of Hospitals Serving Urban Communities
Hospitals serving marginalized urban communities need additional federal support so they can meet their mission of advancing health for the patients and communities they serve.
Physician Issues, Leadership, Physician-owned Hospitals
Blog: Hill Opinion Piece Touts the Wrong Prescription with Physician-Owned Hospitals
A recent piece in The Hill promoting physician-owned hospitals gives a misleading and incomplete account of these facilities and the reasons for current statutory restrictions on their growth.
Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19), COVID-19: Caring for Patients and Communities, COVID-19: Coverage and Reimbursement, Leadership
Study on Provider Relief Fund uses arbitrary data to make incomplete conclusions
A recent study published in JAMA Health Forum (“Association Between COVID-19 Relief Funds and Hospital Characteristics in the U.S.”) that examines CARES Act Provider Relief Funds allocated to health care providers misses the point of those payments and makes arbitrary choices about which payments to include.
Surprise Medical Billing, Legislation and Legislative Advocacy
Stopping surprise medical billing: Prevention is better than cure.
Come January 1, 2022, patients will be protected from certain types of unexpected medical bills. America’s hospitals and health systems strongly support these new patient protections that are included in the No Surprises Act.
Medicare, Hospital Ranking, Star Ratings
Puzzling Hospital Ranking Report on Unnecessary Services: Based on Incomplete Data, Omits Important Clinical Details
A recent report from the Lown Institute that ranks hospitals on what they deem to be unnecessary hospital services, tests and procedures attempts to make sweeping conclusions about hospital value based on data that are not only incomplete, but also not current.
Making Healthcare More Affordable, Price Transparency
The real story on health care costs is deeper than one cherry-picked statistic
A recent American Enterprise Institute blog on hospital prices fails to capture the full story on how hospitals and health systems have slowed price growth.
Population/Community Health
Working at all levels to improve community health
Ashley Thompson, AHA senior vice president of public policy analysis and development, shares some ways AHA is engaged in advocacy and public policy efforts to support national strategies and provide resources to advance community health.