Joint Statement from National Hospital Associations on DHS Public Charge Final Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 12, 2019) – Below is a joint statement from the American Hospital Association, America’s Essential Hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Catholic Health Association of the United States, the Children’s Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals on the final rule from the Department of Homeland Security regarding changes to the definition of public charge:

Hospitals and health systems work every day to ensure patients have access to the care they need, when they need it. Public health programs play an important role in helping us achieve this mission. This rule could undermine access to care for legal immigrants by discouraging the use of critical public programs like Medicaid. We are concerned that this could lead to delays in care that would negatively impact the health of the communities we serve. We ask the administration to withdraw this harmful rule.

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Contact:        

Sean Barry, American Hospital Association, (202) 626-2306

Carl Graziano, America’s Essential Hospitals, (202) 585-0102

Stuart Heiser, Association of American Medical Colleges, (202) 828-0059

Brian Reardon, Catholic Health Association of the United States, (314) 427-2500

Gina Drioane, Children’s Hospital Association, (202) 753-5372

Sean Brown, Federation of American Hospitals, (202) 624-1527