/ en Thu, 07 Aug 2025 04:07:53 -0500 Wed, 30 Jul 25 11:00:00 -0500 /center/population-health/community-investment-health/conversations Wed, 30 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0500 Disparities/Equity of Care /center/population-health/community-investment-health Wed, 30 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0500 Disparities/Equity of Care /lettercomment/2025-07-22-aha-letter-support-medicare-mental-health-inpatient-equity-act <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p>July 22, 2025</p><div class="row"><div class="col-md-6"><p>The Honorable Paul Tonko<br>U.S. House of Representatives<br>2269 Rayburn House Office Building<br>Washington, DC 20515</p><p>The Honorable Lloyd Doggett<br>U.S. House of Representatives<br>2307 Rayburn House Office Building<br>Washington, DC 20515</p></div><div class="col-md-6"><p>The Honorable Bill Huizenga<br>U.S. House of Representatives<br>2232 Rayburn House Office Building<<br>Washington, DC 20515</p><p>The Honorable Brian Fitzpatrick<br>U.S. House of Representatives<br>271 Cannon House Office Building<br>Washington, DC 20515</p></div></div><p>Dear Representatives Tonko, Huizenga, Doggett and Fitzpatrick:</p><p>On behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers — and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups — the ���������� Association (AHA) is pleased to support your legislation, the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act.</p><p>This bill would eliminate the 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital services for Medicare patients. As we work to further integrate physical and behavioral health to better address the nation’s behavioral health needs, one major obstacle to parity remains in the Medicare program — the 190-day lifetime limit on coverage for certain inpatient psychiatric treatment. As the nation’s population ages and an increasing number of seniors and people with disabilities seek inpatient care to address their behavioral health needs, now is the time to repeal this discriminatory policy and ensure that Medicare beneficiaries can receive necessary inpatient psychiatric care.</p><p>The AHA believes physical and mental health care are inextricably linked, and everyone deserves access to high-quality behavioral health care. We know that as a country we need to prioritize resources that support behavioral health needs. These investments will not only help to stymie the wave of unmet demand for behavioral health services but also improve America’s overall health.</p><p>We are grateful for your leadership on this issue and stand ready to work with you to enact this important legislation.</p><p>Sincerely,</p><p>/s/</p><p>Lisa Kidder Hrobsky<br>Senior Vice President, Advocacy and Political Affairs</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><div class="external-link spacer"><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2025/07/AHA-Letter-in-Support-of-the-Medicare-Mental-Health-Inpatient-Equity-Act.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA Letter in Support of the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act PDF.">Download the Letter PDF</a></div><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/07/AHA-Letter-in-Support-of-the-Medicare-Mental-Health-Inpatient-Equity-Act.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA Letter in Support of the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act PDF."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Page-1-AHA-Letter-in-Support-of-the-Medicare-Mental-Health-Inpatient-Equity-Act.png" data-entity-uuid="467c1006-fea6-4c02-aa52-afd3910d4b3d" data-entity-type="file" alt="AHA Letter in Support of the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act page 1." width="689" height="900"></a></div></div></div> Tue, 22 Jul 2025 13:10:06 -0500 Disparities/Equity of Care /community-health-environment/resources <div class="raw-html-embed"> </div><div> /* Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar */ .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar { position: relative; display: block; overflow: hidden; max-width: 1170px; margin: 0px auto 25px auto; border-radius: 75px 0px; } .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar h1 { position: absolute; bottom: 40px; color: #003087; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, .8); width: 100%; padding: 20px 40px; font-size: 3em; box-shadow: 0 3px 8px -5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .6); } @media (max-width:991px) { .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar h1 { bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; font-size: 2.5em; } } @media (max-width:767px) { .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar h1 { font-size: 2em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; padding: 10px 20px; } } @media (max-width:530px) { .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar h1 { position: relative; background-color: #63666A22; } } /* Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar // */ <header class="Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar"><img src="/sites/default/files/2024-07/cch-banner-city-park-1170x250.jpg" alt="Banner Image" width="1170" height="250"><div><h1>Community Health and Environment Resources</h1></div></header></div><div class="row"> <div data-entity-type="webform" data-entity-uuid="19647ddc-18ec-47c4-9edc-d1b5ee437cde" data-embed-button="webform_embed" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:webform.token" data-langcode="en" data-entity-embed-display-settings="[]" class="embedded-entity"> <div class="antibot-no-js antibot-message antibot-message-warning">You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form.</div> <div id="edit-climate-menu" class="js-form-item form-item js-form-type-processed-text form-item- js-form-item- form-no-label"> <div class="raw-html-embed"> /* Needed to over ride the webform width */ .webform-submission-climate-and-community-health-men-form { margin: auto auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0 0; } .MenuClimate { z-index: 50; margin-bottom:25px; } .MenuClimate a, .MenuClimateNav li > a, .nav>li>a { text-decoration: none; } .MenuClimate h3 { font-size: 15px; text-align: center; } @media (min-width:768px) { .MenuClimate { float: right; } } @media (max-width:767px) { .MenuClimate { max-width: 400px; margin: 0px auto 50px auto; } .MenuClimate img { margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 150px; width: 100% } .MenuClimate .nav>li>a { font-size: 12px; padding: 0px 0px; float: left; } .MenuClimate .nav>li>a:after { content: "\00a0\00a0| \00a0" } .MenuClimate .nav>li:last-of-type>a:after { content: "" } .MenuClimate .nav>li { border-bottom: 0px; } .MenuClimate li { max-width: 375px; margin: auto } } .MenuClimate .nav>li>a:hover { background-color: #78be20; border-radius: 20px 0px; } .MenuClimate h3 a, .MenuClimate ul li a { color: #005844; } .MenuClimateNav { border-top: 5px solid #78be20; } .MenuClimateNav li { border-bottom: solid 1.5px #78be20; line-height: 20px; } .MenuClimateNav a:hover { color: #fff; font-weight: 700; background-color: #BFBFBF; } .MenuClimateNav li:hover > a { background-color: #BFBFBF; } .MenuClimateHead { margin: 3px 0; } .MenuClimateHead a { --c: #78be20; line-height: 2.5em; background: conic-gradient(from -135deg at 100% 50%, var(--c) 90deg, #0000 0) 0 var(--p, 0%), conic-gradient(from -135deg at 2.5em 50%, #0000 90deg, var(--c) 0) 100% var(--p, 0%); background-size: var(--s, 0%) 200%; background-repeat: no-repeat; transition: 0.4s ease-in, background-position 0s; padding: 0px 0px; } .MenuClimateHead a:hover { --p: 100%; --s: calc( 50% + 2.3em); /* it should be 0.6em(1.2em/2) but we use a litte bigger */ color: #fff; border-radius: 20px 0px; } .MenuClimate a { transition: 1s ease-in, background-position 0s; } @media (min-width:768px) { .MenuClimate a:hover { -webkit-transform: translateX(32px); transform: translateX(32px); transition: 1s ease-in, background-position 0s; } ul.MenuClimateNav li { overflow: hidden; } } @media (max-width:767px) { .MenuClimate a:hover { -webkit-transform: translateY(5px); transform: translateY(5px); transition: 1s ease-in, background-position 0s; } .MenuClimate .nav>li>a:hover { border-radius: 0px 0px; } } <nav class="col-lg-3 MenuClimate"> <aside> <h3 class="MenuClimateHead"> <a href="/community-health-environment" title="Go to the Home Section: Community Health and Environment">Community Health and Environment</a> </h3> <div> <ul class="nav MenuClimateNav"> <li> <a href="/community-health-environment/about" title="Visit the About Page">About</a></li> <li> <a href="/community-health-environment/technical-expert-panel" title="Visit the Technical Expert Panel (TEP) Page">Technical Expert Panel</a></li> <li> <a href="/community-health-environment/workshops" title="Visit the Workshops Page">Workshops</a></li> <li> <a href="/community-health-environment/stories" title="Visit the Stories Page">Share Stories</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="homepage-textfield js-form-wrapper form-wrapper"><div class="js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textfield form-item-homepage js-form-item-homepage"> Leave this field blank </div> </div> </div> .center_Lead p { color: #63666A; font-weight: 300; line-height: 1.4; font-size: 21px; } <div class="col-lg-9 center_Lead "><h2>Explore These Resources</h2><p>The Community Health and Environment initiative presents additional resources that can be leveraged to address the impact of environment on the health of your community. Use these resources to dive deeper into data collection and evaluation, planning and partnerships, internal organizational alignment and more.</p></div></div> .shcItems{ border: solid 2px #005844; padding-top: 25px; padding-bottom: 25px; border-radius: 75px 0px; /*margin-top:50px;*/ margin-bottom:50px; } .shcItems2{ background-color: #78be2022; } .shcItems h2{ text-align:center; color:#005844; /* margin-bottom:50px;*/ } .shcItems h3{ color:#005844; } .shcItems h3{ margin:0px; } .shcItems h4{ color:#78be20; } .shcItems .shcItemsLine { border-bottom:solid 1px #78be20; margin-top:25px; margin-bottom:50px; } .BulletCircle ul { list-style: none; /* Remove default bullets */ padding-left: 0px } .BulletCircle ul li { margin-bottom: 7px; line-height: 1.5em; } .BulletCircle ul li::before { content: "●"; font-size: 1em; position: relative; top: 0px; color:#78be20; text-indent: -20px; /* key property */ margin-left: 20px; /* key property */ padding-right:10px } .BulletCircle ul li { text-indent: -40px; /* key property */ margin-left: 30px; /* key property */ } */ @media (min-width:415px){ .BulletSplit2 ul{ -webkit-column-count: 2; -- Old Chrome, Safari and Opera -- -moz-column-count: 2; -- Old Firefox -- column-count: 2; } } <div class="row"><div class="col-md-10 col-md-offset-1 shcItems shcItems2"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-12 BulletCircle"><ul><li><a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/"><strong>Environmental Information Hub</strong></a> — Provides essential environmental data, products and services to help decision-makers across sectors operate more efficiently and safely while addressing specific environmental challenges.</li><li><a href="https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/"><strong>National Risk Index for Natural Hazards</strong></a> — Interactive data set and online tool from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that allows visualization of the risk to most U.S. communities from 18 hazard types, such as flooding and wildfires.</li><li><a href="https://www.americanforests.org/tools-research-reports-and-guides/tree-equity-score/"><strong>Tree Equity Score</strong></a> — Assesses how well the benefits of urban trees, shade and clean air are reaching communities. Helps community members create a data-driven plan to improve the “tree equity score” in their neighborhood.</li><li><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/climate-health/php/brace/index.html"><strong>5 Steps to Building Environmental Resilience</strong></a> — Empowers health officials to develop strategies and programs to help communities prepare for health impacts of weather and the environment.</li><li><a href="https://toolkit.climate.gov/case-study/moving-forward-together-building-tribal-resiliency-and-partnerships"><strong>Building Resiliency and Partnerships with Tribal Communities</strong></a> — Tools and case studies for hospitals and tribal communities to address environmental impact on health.</li><li><a href="https://toolkit.climate.gov/"><strong>U.S. Environmental Resilience Toolkit</strong></a> — Designed to help individuals, communities and health care organizations better understand and address the impacts of the environment on health and support resilience planning and decision-making.</li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 24 Jun 2025 10:49:28 -0500 Disparities/Equity of Care /news/headline/2025-03-31-study-finds-social-factors-explain-poorer-cardiovascular-health-rural-areas <p>A <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/social-factors-help-explain-worse-cardiovascular-health-among-adults-rural-vs-urban-communities">study</a> published March 31 by the National Institutes of Health found that adults living in rural areas have worse cardiovascular health than those in urban communities due to social factors such as income, education, having enough food and owning a home. The agency found that those living in rural rather than urban areas were more likely to have heart disease (7% vs. 4%), high blood pressure (37% vs. 31%), high cholesterol (29% vs. 27%), obesity (41% vs. 30%) and diabetes (11% vs. 10%). </p> Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:07:50 -0500 Disparities/Equity of Care /role-hospitals-hartford-healthcare-enhances-translation-services-deaf-and-hard-hearing-patients <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-7"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-02/ths-hartford-asl-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Hartford HealthCare. A female doctor gestures with hands while consulting with a male patient." width="700" height="532" class="align-left"></p></div><p>Better communication between patient and provider translates into better care. Hartford HealthCare in Connecticut is partnering with the American School for the Deaf to offer in-person American Sign Language services and other translation services for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and their companions. The health system is adding a full-time ASL/English medical interpreter to its team so that patients can understand their providers and fully participate in conversations, including asking questions and requesting advice.</p><p>Interpretation services for Hartford HealthCare patients and their companions who are deaf or hard of hearing are available in person or on video. Patients also have access to assistive listening devices or qualified notetakers, depending on their communication preferences.</p><p>Announcing the partnership, Ajay Kumar, M.D., Hartford HealthCare executive vice president and chief clinical officer, observed, “It is our privilege — and responsibility — to meet the communication needs of those who rely on us as part of our work to promote the health and healing of all. Clear communication is essential for quality and safe care.”</p><p>In addition to ASL services, Hartford HealthCare provides <a href="https://hartfordhealthcare.org/patients-visitors/patients/interpretive-services">other interpretive services</a>, as needed or requested, for all patients, designated caregivers, families and loved ones — at no cost, 24/7/365. These services include a voice remote interpreter in more than a dozen languages, over-the-phone interpreter, qualified bilingual staff and in-person certified interpreters.</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://charlottehungerford.org/about-us/news-press/news-detail?articleid=60005" target="_blank" title="Learn More">LEARN MORE</a></p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/advocacy/access-and-health-coverage">Access to Care</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:18:53 -0600 Disparities/Equity of Care /role-hospitals-butler-hospital-leads-research-education-and-community-outreach-alzheimers <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="col-md-6"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-01/THS-butler-alzheimers-research-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., is leading research studies on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia through its multifaceted Memory and Aging Program (MAP)." width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., is leading research studies on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia through its multifaceted Memory and Aging Program (MAP). It’s an urgent health concern as Alzheimer’s currently has no cure.</p><p>Nearly 7 million people in America are living with Alzheimer’s, the most common cause of dementia. Though the disease is not a normal part of aging, the greatest known risk factor is increasing age. It’s estimated that 1 in 3 adults over age 65 dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, according to the <a href="https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers" target="_blank">Alzheimer’s Association</a>.</p><p>Part of MAP at Butler Hospital is a prevention registry for people with normal memory or mild memory loss interested in participating in a research study or clinical trial. Several active studies on preventing and treating Alzheimer’s are open for enrollment, led by MAP’s team of neurologists, neuropsychologists, research and clinical nurses, interns and post-doctoral fellows, and research assistants.</p><p>In addition, MAP is expanding its Spanish-language outreach initiatives. Hispanic people are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's compared to non-Hispanic white individuals. MAP partners with local health clinics and community centers to offer memory screenings, educational programs on brain health and aging, and research opportunities to historically marginalized communities. Presentations and information are offered in English and Spanish.</p><p>To further increase outreach, MAP recently implemented an advance translation system that offers a wider range of languages and improved translations.</p><p>Learn more about <a href="https://www.butler.org" target="_blank">MAP</a> and its <a href="https://www.butler.org/memoryandaging/beyond-translation-the-memory-and-aging-programs-culturally-tailored-approach-to-raising-alzheimers-awareness-in-the-hispanic-community" target="_blank">community outreach efforts</a>.</p></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/topics/innovation">Innovation, Research and Quality Improvement</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 21 Jan 2025 10:28:20 -0600 Disparities/Equity of Care /news/headline/2025-01-17-ifdhe-infographic-highlights-community-collaboration-achieving-health-equity <p>The AHA’s newly released <a href="https://sponsors.aha.org/rs/710-ZLL-651/images/community-collaboration-infographic.pdf?version=0">infographic</a> highlights the importance of leveraging community collaborations to address health disparities for all populations.</p> Fri, 17 Jan 2025 14:59:00 -0600 Disparities/Equity of Care /advocacy-agenda <div class="raw-html-embed"><div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> <h2><span>Introduction</span></h2> <p>America’s hospitals and health systems are unwavering in their commitment to delivering safe and quality care to every patient, in every community. The blue and white “H” symbol is a beacon of healing, hope and health in every community nationwide.</p> <p>Despite this steadfast commitment, hospitals and health systems face formidable challenges. They continue to grapple with significant workforce shortages, escalating costs of care, inadequate government reimbursement and a heavy regulatory burden.</p> <p>In 2025, the ���������� Association (AHA) will engage with Congress, the Administration, regulatory bodies and the judiciary to shape public policy to advance hospitals’ efforts to provide quality patient care. The AHA also will focus on ensuring the long-term viability of hospitals to serve their communities and promote health and wellness.</p> <p>By addressing these challenges head-on, the AHA supports hospitals and health systems in their crucial role of caring for patients and advancing health, ensuring that the promise of the “H” symbol remains strong and reliable.</p> <p>Our 2025 Advocacy Agenda is focused on:</p> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensuring Access to Care</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Strengthening the Health Care Workforce</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advancing Quality and Health Care System Resiliency</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Leading Innovation in Care Delivery</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reducing Health Care System Costs for Patient Care</strong></li> </ul> <p>The following includes a detailed list of our advocacy priorities and key highlights. Please explore this page and the Advocacy link in our website navigation for more resources and information on the priorities in this document and our latest advocacy campaigns.</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <div class="external-link spacer"><strong><strong><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2025/01/AHA-2025-Advocacy-Agenda-20250114.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA 2025 Advocacy Agenda PDF.">Download the 2025 Advocacy Agenda PDF</a></strong></strong></div> <p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/01/AHA-2025-Advocacy-Agenda-20250114.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA 2025 Advocacy Agenda PDF."><img alt="���������� Association 2025 Advocacy Agenda cover." src="/sites/default/files/2025-01/Page-1-AHA-2025-Advocacy-Agenda-20250114.png"></a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <h2><span>Detailed Advocacy Agenda</span></h2> <div class="col-md-12 cc_tabs"> /* reset */ .cc_tabs ul.a-container { 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transparent; border-right: 6px solid transparent; border-bottom: 8px solid #fff; border-left: 6px solid transparent; top: 6px; } .cc_tabs .a-content { padding: 0 20px 20px; display: none; height:auto; max-height: 40vh; overflow: auto } .cc_tabs .a-container input:checked ~ .a-content { display: block; } /* Style the tab */ .cc_tabs .tab { background-color: #fff; width: auto; height: auto; overflow: auto; } /* Style the buttons inside the tab */ .cc_tabs .tab button { display: block; background-color: lightgry; color: #003087; padding: 10px 16px 10px 20px; width: calc(16% - 30px); height: 150px; /*added by Nia 1/23/25 to align tab heights*/ border: solid 1px lightgray; outline: none; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; transition: 0.3s; font-size: 15px; float: left; /*overflow: auto; Hidden to prevent scroll in tab title */ margin: 0px 15px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius: 15px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius: 15px; -moz-border-radius-topleft: 15px; -moz-border-radius-topright: 15px; border-top-left-radius: 15px; border-top-right-radius: 15px; font-weight: 700; } @media (max-width:452px){ .cc_tabs .tab button{ padding: 10px 5px 10px 5px; width: calc(50% - 4px); font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 2px; } } /* Change background color of buttons on hover */ .cc_tabs .tab button:hover { background-color: #003087; color:#fff } /* Create an active/current "tab button" class */ .cc_tabs .tab button.active { background-color: #003087; color: #ffffff } /* Style the tab content */ .cc_tabs .tab .tabcontent { float: left; padding: 15px 12px; border: 1px solid #ccc; width: 100%; height: auto; } .cc_tabs .tablinks:after { content: '\2610'; color: #777; font-weight: bold; float: right; margin-left: 5px; } .cc_tabs .tablinks.active:after { content: "\2611"; } <div class="tab">Key HighlightsEnsuring Access to CareStrengthening the Health Care WorkforceAdvancing Quality and Health Care System ResiliencyLeading Innovation in Care DeliveryReducing Health Care System Costs for Patient Care</div> <div class="tabcontent" id="highlights"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Highlights <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits</strong> to ensure millions of Americans can continue to access health insurance and prevent hospitals from shouldering an even greater financial burden.</li> <li class="diamond">Ensure essential health care services are available in all communities by <strong>safeguarding federal funding for Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Health Insurance Marketplaces.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reject additional payment cuts</strong> that do not recognize legitimate differences among provider settings (<strong>so-called site-neutral or facility-fee payment policies</strong>).</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program</strong> to ensure hospitals can maintain vital patient services and expand access to care.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure Medicaid is fully funded</strong> to allow hospitals to continue to serve the Medicaid, uninsured and marginalized populations in their communities, including through support of the current FMAP rates, the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program, Upper Payment Limits and Directed Payments, and the financing sources that sustain them.</li> <li class="diamond">Bolster support for hospitals and health systems so they can <strong>prepare for and respond to natural and man-made disruptions, including natural disasters, cyberattacks and supply chain failures.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Hold commercial health insurers accountable</strong> for ensuring appropriate patient access to care, including reducing the excessive use of utilization management programs, ensuring adequate provider networks, reducing account receivables and limiting inappropriate denials for services.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Bolster the health care workforce</strong> by enacting important protections against violence in health care settings, eliminating federal restrictions that limit the ability of providers to practice at the top of their license, and increasing funding for clinical training programs.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Enact regulatory and administrative relief</strong> from burdensome policies that take caregivers away from providing patient care and increase costs for patients and the health care system.</li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="accesstocare"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Financial Stability of the Health Care System <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond">Ensure essential health care services are available in all communities by <strong>safeguarding federal funding for Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Health Insurance Marketplaces.</strong> Government programs currently reimburse providers significantly less than the cost of delivering care.</li> <li class="diamond">Ensure patient access to critical care and other outpatient services by <strong>rejecting additional payment cuts</strong> that do not recognize legitimate differences among provider settings (also known as so-called site-neutral or facility-fee payment policies) and policies that restrict patient access to certain sites of care (also known as site-of-service policies).</li> <li class="diamond">Preserve the gains in health coverage made over the past decade, including by <strong>extending the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits</strong> for coverage through the health insurance marketplaces.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program</strong> to ensure hospitals can maintain vital patient services and expand access to care by reversing harmful policies and holding drug manufacturers accountable to the program rules, <strong>especially community pharmacy arrangements.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure Medicaid is fully funded</strong> to allow hospitals to continue to serve the Medicaid, uninsured and underserved populations in their communities, including through support of the current FMAP rates, the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program, Upper Payment Limits and Directed Payments, and the financing sources that sustain them.</li> <li class="diamond">Pursue a new <strong>“metropolitan anchor hospital”</strong> designation for certain hospitals that provide critical health care services to marginalized and underrepresented communities.</li> <li class="diamond">Ensure the <strong>Federal Emergency Management Agency follows through on its commitment to reimburse hospitals</strong> appropriately and timely for the resources they provide during public health emergencies and other disasters.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Mitigate Medicare payment reductions to ensure patient access to physicians.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Rein in rising drug costs</strong> by taking steps to increase drug manufacturer competition, improve drug pricing transparency and hold pharmacy benefit managers accountable for illegal practices that increase costs and reduce coverage for patients and providers.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Enact regulatory and administrative relief</strong> from burdensome policies that take caregivers away from providing patient care and increase costs for patients and the health care system.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Protect not-for-profit hospitals’ tax-exempt</strong> status so they can continue providing community benefits tailored to their communities’ unique needs, demographics and policy realities.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Protect access to clinical laboratory services in hospital-based laboratories.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Protect access to care by <strong>preserving the existing ban on the growth and expansion of physician-owned hospitals.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Coverage and Access <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure access to care for veterans</strong> by working with the Department of Veterans Affairs as it implements the next generation of comprehensive community care for veterans.</li> <li class="diamond">Support policy and federal oversight changes to <strong>ensure the appropriate use of donated organs in time for a successful transplant</strong>, the ability to effectively use new strategies for harvesting and preserving organs until donated and coordinated, and rational regulation of transplant centers, donor hospitals and organ procurement organizations.</li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Rural Hospitals <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond">Protect rural communities’ access to care by <strong>making permanent critical programs, including the Medicare-dependent Hospital designation, Low-volume Adjustment and ambulance add-on payment.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Improve rural health programs by <strong>reopening the necessary provider designation for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), reversing cuts to Rural Health Clinic payments, removing the 96-hour condition of payment for CAHs and further strengthening Medicare-dependent and Sole Community Hospitals</strong> by allowing participating hospitals to choose from an additional base year when calculating payments.</li> <li class="diamond">Advance rural health care alternatives to ensure care delivery and financing by <strong>supporting and refining the Rural Emergency Hospital model.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Continue to support legislation that would <strong>place a floor on the area wage index, effectively raising it for hospitals below that threshold with new money.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support Medicare Advantage payment parity for CAHs</strong> to ensure the long-term health of providers and facilities that care for patients in rural areas, considering the volume of Medicare Advantage enrollment in those communities.</li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Post-Acute Care <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Bolster patient access to post-acute care by establishing appropriate network adequacy requirements</strong> for long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Eliminate the proposed minimum staffing requirements for skilled nursing and long-term care facilities</strong> and instead press for long-term solutions to health care workforce shortages.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Provide stability under the long-term care hospital prospective payment system</strong> through legislative and regulatory reforms that provide adequate reimbursement for high-cost patients and those with high acuity levels.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have access to the same post-acute care benefits as Traditional Medicare beneficiaries</strong> by holding plans accountable through robust oversight and enforcement.</li> <li class="diamond">Reduce administrative burden for post-acute care providers by <strong>eliminating unnecessary data reporting requirements.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Behavioral Health <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Implement policies to better integrate and coordinate behavioral health services with physical health services</strong>, including developing alternative payment models and bundled payments that incorporate behavioral and physical health services and financially supporting the implementation of team-based care models.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Eliminate Medicare’s 90-day lifetime limit for inpatient psychiatric admissions.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Repeal the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Disease exclusion</strong>, which prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds to cover inpatient mental health services for patients aged 21 to 64 in certain freestanding psychiatric facilities.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reauthorize key programs in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act</strong>, which would extend expiring payments, grants and other programs for substance use disorder treatment and prevention.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Increase targeted funding for facilities that provide specialty mental health services</strong> (including pediatric, geriatric and multi-substance use disorders) and <strong>invest in the behavioral health workforce</strong> by creating dedicated Medicare-funded graduate medical education slots for these specialties.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Make permanent the Certified Community Behavioral Health Center demonstration program.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Eliminate or amend outdated and unnecessary Conditions of Participation for psychiatric facilities</strong> related to emergency care and treatment planning documentation.</li> <li class="diamond">Strengthen enforcement through significant <strong>penalties for health plans that violate the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and subsequent rules.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Commercial Insurer Accountability <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Hold commercial health insurers accountable for ensuring appropriate patient access to care</strong>, including by reducing the excessive use of prior authorization, ensuring adequate provider networks, limiting inappropriate denials for services that should be covered and prohibiting certain specialty pharmacy policies, like insurer-mandated “white bagging,” that create patient safety risks and limit patient access to certain medications in hospital settings.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure stronger enforcement of federal rules related to Medicare Advantage</strong> through increased oversight and insurer scrutiny.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Increase oversight and accountability of commercial health plans through increased data collection, reporting and transparency</strong> on core plan performance metrics that are meaningful indicators of patient access, such as appeals, denials and grievances, and reporting on using algorithms and artificial intelligence in utilization management programs.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Establish a prompt payment standard for Medicare Advantage</strong> to ensure timely claims payment.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Apply guardrails to insurer algorithms and artificial intelligence use</strong> to ensure these tools do not inappropriately create barriers for patients to access medical care.</li> <li class="diamond">Ensure patients can rely on their coverage by <strong>disallowing health plans from inappropriately delaying and denying care</strong>, including by making unilateral mid-year coverage changes.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Prevent improper insurer manipulation of oversight tools</strong> designed to ensure premium dollars are spent on patient care (e.g., medical loss ratio requirements).</li> <li class="diamond">Advocate for regulatory and legislative solutions to <strong>prevent health plans from enacting inappropriate fees for electronic payments.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="workforce"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Workforce Shortages <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Address physician shortages</strong>, including shortages of behavioral health providers, by increasing the number of residency slots eligible for Medicare funding while rejecting cuts to Medicare graduate medical education.</li> <li class="diamond">Encourage the <strong>continuation of visa waivers for physicians in medically underserved areas and recapture of unused employment visas for doctors and nurses.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Address nursing shortages by <strong>reauthorizing nursing workforce development programs</strong> to support recruitment, retention and advanced education for nurses and other allied health professionals and investing in nursing schools, nurse faculty salaries and hospital training time.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reduce administrative burdens that take clinicians away from the bedside and contribute to burnout</strong>, such as excessive and unnecessary prior authorization use and inappropriate coverage denials that require substantive clerical rework by staff.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support apprenticeship programs for nursing assistants and other critical support staff positions.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Adopt policies to expand loan repayment and other incentive-based programs to retain existing talent and attract new talent</strong>, including through continued funding of the National Health Service Corps and National Nurse Corps.</li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Workforce Safety <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Strengthen workplace safety by enacting federal protections for health care workers against violence and intimidation</strong> and providing hospitals with grant funding for education and training programs, coordination efforts with state and local law enforcement, and physical plant improvements.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reject additional federal workplace violence regulations that would be duplicative of the rigorous accreditation requirements hospitals already face</strong> and that would add administrative burden.</li> <li class="diamond">Protect health care workers from threats against them in their homes by <strong>permanently removing the requirement that practitioners rendering telehealth services from their homes report their home addresses on Medicare enrollment or claims forms.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Licensure Standards <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond">Support efforts to <strong>allow non-physicians to practice at the top of their licenses.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Allow non-physician licensed practitioners to provide and be paid for certain clinical services, including behavioral health services, by <strong>expediting licensure processes, allowing for general rather than direct supervision and removing unnecessary practice restrictions as clinically appropriate.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Promote medical licensure reciprocity to allow practitioners to work across state lines.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Remove unnecessary and stigmatizing language around mental health from licensure and credentialing processes.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="quality"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Quality <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for streamlined Conditions of Participation</strong> and other regulatory standards that promote safe, high-quality care without increasing administrative burden.</li> <li class="diamond">Pursue strategies and support public policies aimed at <strong>improving maternal and child health access and outcomes.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Enhance the effectiveness and lower the burden of the Physician Quality Payment Program</strong> by advocating for more accurate and meaningful cost measures and appropriately pacing the implementation of new program approaches, such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System Value Pathways.</li> <li class="diamond">Promote approaches to <strong>account for health-related social needs in quality measurement and value programs where appropriate</strong> to ensure appropriate performance comparisons and payment adjustments.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for measures that matter in advancing quality and patient safety</strong> and that help hospitals and health systems identify important opportunities to ensure all patients achieve the best possible outcomes for their conditions. Work to ensure federal, state, and payer performance assessments use these same measures in order to reduce measurement burden.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate to discontinue measures</strong> that either fail to provide meaningful, credible information to advance patient quality or safety or have administrative burdens that outweigh their value to improving care.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Promote meaningful changes</strong> in federal funding of research to improve the delivery of safe, effective care, the efficiency of care, the effective use of care teams, and the leadership and governance processes most likely to yield improvements in patient outcomes and experience of care.</li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Resiliency and Preparedness <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for increased annual appropriations for the Hospital Preparedness Program</strong> to ensure that the health care infrastructure is ready to respond to crises. Continue efforts to ensure that most of this funding is awarded to hospitals and health systems to enhance emergency preparedness and surge capacity.</li> <li class="diamond">Support federal incentives and investments to improve <strong>hospitals’ disaster preparedness and operational resiliency.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Prevent and address shortages of critical medical drugs, devices, blood and blood products, and supplies, including working with Congress and the federal government to bring about policy changes that will <strong>avert future shortages by strengthening the medical supply chain.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advance policies that assist in protecting health care services, data and patients from cyberattacks</strong> while supporting efforts to deliver broader gains in computer security by shifting the burden of cybersecurity away from individual health systems.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Continue to support federal incentives and investments to improve the security posture of hospitals and health systems</strong>, including regulatory relief for hospitals and health systems that suffer a cyberattack despite having recognized cybersecurity practices in place, and push back on any new cybersecurity regulation not inclusive of the entire health sector.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for increased accountability of third-party technology vendors in HIPAA.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support regulation of artificial intelligence that enables continued innovation while providing reasonable guardrails</strong> to ensure patient safety and improved outcomes for all patients.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support clear minimum privacy standards in HIPAA</strong> that account for how data is used, shared and created in hospitals and health systems.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support the continued development of clinician burden reduction technologies</strong> to help caregivers reduce administrative requirements to spend more time on direct patient care.</li> <li class="diamond">Advocate for the adoption of a <strong>universal patient identification number</strong> to support patient safety efforts.</li> <li class="diamond">Continue to support federal investments in <strong>improving broadband infrastructure</strong>, especially in rural and underserved areas of the country.</li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="innovation"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Leading Innovation in Care Delivery <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support the move to value-based care</strong>, with a particular focus on solutions for the longterm financial viability of hospitals and health systems by offering some level of predictable, up-front payment.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for incentive payments</strong> to support hospitals and health systems’ transition to taking on higher levels of risk.</li> <li class="diamond">Advocate for implementing <strong>new voluntary payment models</strong> so hospitals are not forced to bear the expense of participation in these complicated programs if they do not believe it will benefit patients.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Create a permanent CMS hospital-at-home program</strong>, shown to be a safe and innovative approach to caring for patients in the comfort of their homes that leads to high patient satisfaction and, for some patients, results in shorter recovery times.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Remove barriers</strong> to cross-sector and interagency coordination and support investments to provide accountable care.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Make permanent coverage of certain telehealth services</strong> made possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, including lifting geographic and originating site restrictions, allowing Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers to serve as distant sites, expanding practitioners who can provide telehealth and allowing hospital outpatient billing for virtual services, among others.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Implement a special registration process for telemedicine providers</strong> to ensure access to telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances for practitioners who register with the Drug Enforcement Agency. Preserve pandemic-era waivers until the special registration process begins.</li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="reducingcosts"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Reducing Health Care System Costs for Patient Care <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure patients do not face financial barriers to care because of unaffordable deductibles or otherwise “skinny coverage,”</strong> such as health sharing ministries and short-term limited-duration coverage products.</li> <li class="diamond">Reduce the prevalence of individuals faced with unaffordable medical bills by <strong>addressing the root causes of medical debt</strong>, such as skyrocketing deductibles and other benefit designs that push costs onto consumers.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support price transparency efforts by ensuring patients have access to the information they seek when preparing for care</strong>, including cost estimates when appropriate, and creating alignment of federal price transparency requirements to avoid patient confusion and overly burdensome duplication of efforts.</li> <li class="diamond">Advocate that No Surprises Act price transparency regulations leverage existing workflows and appropriate technology to <strong>enable patient access to information without significant administrative burden for providers.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Reduce unnecessary costs in the system by pursuing <strong>medical liability reform.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Reduce regulatory burden by identifying and advocating for the <strong>repeal of unnecessary and duplicative Conditions of Participation</strong> that increase hospital inefficiency and reduce the time providers can spend caring for their patients.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Mitigate unreasonable proposed changes to the False Claims Act and related enforcement practices.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Preserve the ability of hospital and health system clinical laboratories to develop new and innovative diagnostic tests, known as laboratory-developed tests (LDT)</strong>, to address unmet patient needs and improve existing diagnostic tests without imposing burdensome and unnecessary regulatory oversight.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure public policies are aligned across government regulatory bodies</strong> so hospitals are not held to conflicting regulations.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reduce regulatory barriers to hospitals improving the environment</strong>, such as Medicare Conditions of Participation that lock hospitals into compliance with outdated and less energy-efficient physical plants or deter from efforts to reduce the use of anesthesia gases and inhalers.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Prevent the imposition or increase of tariffs on vital medical supplies</strong>, including drugs, devices and raw materials used to manufacture devices and drugs in the U.S., as these will further raise medical services costs and potentially force hospitals to use less effective alternatives that could increase the patient harm risk.</li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> function openCity(evt, cityName) { var i, tabcontent, tablinks; tabcontent = document.getElementsByClassName("tabcontent"); for (i = 0; i < tabcontent.length; i++) { tabcontent[i].style.display = "none"; } tablinks = document.getElementsByClassName("tablinks"); for (i = 0; i < tablinks.length; i++) { tablinks[i].className = tablinks[i].className.replace(" active", ""); } document.getElementById(cityName).style.display = "block"; evt.currentTarget.className += " active"; } // Get the element with id="defaultOpen" and click on it document.getElementById("defaultOpen").click(); </div> </div> <div class="container"> <hr> <h3>AHA Advocacy Campaigns</h3> <p>Please visit <a href="/advocacy/action-center">www.aha.org/advocacy/action-center</a> to get involved and learn more about the ���������� Association’s 2025 public policy advocacy agenda.</p> </div> ul.diamond { list-style: none; margin-left: 20px; padding-left: 0; } li.diamond { padding-left: 1em; text-indent: 1em; } li.diamond:before { content: "◆"; color: #9d2235; padding-right: 10px; margin-left: -36px; } .resource-block-header .resource-block-title small { color: black; } </div> Wed, 15 Jan 2025 06:00:00 -0600 Disparities/Equity of Care /news/headline/2024-11-15-aha-podcast-culturally-sensitive-maternal-care-indigenous-women <p>In this conversation, Jennifer Richards, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Center for Indigenous Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Jennifer Crawford, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and assistant professor at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, discuss the perspectives needed to provide maternal care for Indigenous peoples and the importance of awareness of their cultural and spiritual practices. <a href="/advancing-health-podcast/2024-11-15-culturally-safe-maternal-care-indigenous-women"><strong>LISTEN NOW</strong></a></p><div></div> Fri, 15 Nov 2024 15:26:01 -0600 Disparities/Equity of Care