Statement on The House Ways & Means Committee's Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act Of 2016

Tom Nickels
Executive Vice President
Government Relations and Public Policy
American Hospital Association

May 18, 2016

America’s hospitals appreciate the leadership of Chairman Brady and Representatives Tiberi and McDermott on behalf of the hospital community. They clearly grasped the unintended consequences of last year’s Bipartisan Budget Act that severely impacted hospital outpatient facilities under development and jeopardized access to patient care. We agree with their policy that the readmissions program needs to be adjusted to account for socioeconomic status. We will continue to review the legislation and work with the committee to help improve patient care.

About the AHA

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.