AHA Annual Membership Meeting

AHA Annual Membership Meeting / en Sat, 14 Jun 2025 23:07:50 -0500 Tue, 06 May 25 14:43:38 -0500 Rep. Carter discusses Medicaid, drug costs and rural health /news/headline/2025-05-06-rep-carter-discusses-medicaid-drug-costs-and-rural-health Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., spoke to AHA Annual Meeting attendees in a fireside chat moderated by Aishah Hasnie, congressional correspondent for Fox News. Carter is chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees Medicaid and has been tasked to enact $880 billion in budget cuts.“We want to make sure our goal is to sustain and save and stabilize Medicaid,” Carter said. “What we’re trying to do is to see where we can cut waste, fraud and abuse … so we can stabilize that program and make it sustainable for the most vulnerable in our population.”Carter also spoke on lowering drug costs by eliminating spread pricing in Medicaid and curbing pharmacy benefit managers, as well as supporting and sustaining rural hospitals. Tue, 06 May 2025 14:43:38 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting Rep. Schrier talks Medicaid, mental health at Annual Meeting /news/headline/2025-05-06-rep-schrier-talks-medicaid-mental-health-annual-meeting In a wide-ranging conversation May 6 at the 2025 AHA Annual Membership Meeting, Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., spoke about the upcoming budget reconciliation process, the youth mental health crisis, the Department of Health and Human Services’ potential action on vaccines, and the importance of protecting Medicaid.Schrier, who is the only pediatrician serving in Congress and sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, cautioned that major cuts to Medicaid will not just affect the millions of Americans who use the program to access health care.“I’m worried about cutting Medicaid, I believe my Republican colleagues are also worried about cutting Medicaid, and I believe everybody out there should be as well,” she said. “If it fails, it will cost all of us. Medicaid serves the most vulnerable in our society and these are people who need care. Someone’s got to pay the bill, and if Medicaid isn’t, the rest of us are." Tue, 06 May 2025 14:41:00 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting Sen. Barrasso discusses eliminating ‘wasteful’ spending from Medicaid, increasing workforce retention /news/headline/2025-05-06-sen-barrasso-discusses-eliminating-wasteful-spending-medicaid-increasing-workforce-retention Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., May 6 discussed eliminating waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid as Congress works to find $880 billion in savings for its reconciliation bill at the 2025 AHA Annual Membership Meeting. Barrasso, the Senate majority whip, said there have been no conclusions yet on what could be eliminated from the program. “A lot of discussions, a lot of moving parts — and they haven’t come to the final conclusion on any of those,” he said. Barrasso also discussed the need for Medicaid to focus more on children, pregnant women, and low-income and other individuals in need of care rather than “able-bodied” working individuals.In addition, Barrasso commented on efforts to reverse declines in essential care, such as maternal health services, in rural areas.“[We’re] trying to recruit people, trying to retain people, [and] we’ve had to change the laws within the state of Wyoming to keep health care providers there,” he said. “We’ve changed the laws on physician assistants [and] nurse practitioners to make it easier to give them more autonomy to practice. We’re trying to help by paying scholarships for people from our state who will then come, go to school [and] get trained.”Barrasso also mentioned residency programs associated with the WWAMI medical school program — a partnership between the University of Washington and Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho — as another way of trying to retain health care workers in those states. Tue, 06 May 2025 14:36:54 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting Sens. Slotkin, Gallego discuss Medicaid, need to share personal stories as part of advocacy efforts /news/headline/2025-05-06-sens-slotkin-gallego-discuss-medicaid-need-share-personal-stories-part-advocacy-efforts Freshman Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., May 6 joined former CNN correspondent Frank Sesno at the 2025 AHA Annual Membership Meeting to discuss their first terms in the U.S. Senate, what they hope to see in American health care, and what hospitals, health systems and hospital associations can do to help protect Medicaid.“I think what they’re trying to do to Medicaid is an existential threat to the health care system,” Gallego said. “If they want to find some savings in health care overall there are ways we could do that — but with the way they’re going about it they’re going to end up closing hospitals ... And once hospitals shut down, they’re not going to open back up.”Gallego commented on how severe cuts to Medicaid would affect rural hospitals in particular. “If some of these hospitals shut down, [patients] are going to drive a long way. And those hospitals are the drivers of the economy in that area; culturally they’re very significant. I think it would be hard for residents to see the hospital that has been a part of their life just shut down.”Both senators spoke about how Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again initiative has encouraged bipartisanship in the Senate.“I find it’s opening up interesting conversations on things we’ve been trying to push on forever,” Slotkin said. “[Republicans] have a permission slip to talk about what’s actually harming Americans.”Slotkin acknowledged the difficult political position hospital associations find themselves in. “I understand that hospitals and hospital associations don’t want to pick a fight with this administration,” she said. “And you don’t have to start a fight, but be clear about the threats to your industry and the community you are serving."“It has to be personalized,” Gallego said. “If you allow this just to be a data issue, you’re going to lose. If you make this an emotionally grounded argument, this is the time that you actually win.” Tue, 06 May 2025 14:33:28 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting FDA commissioner talks of shortening drug approval process, benefits of AI /news/headline/2025-05-06-fda-commissioner-talks-shortening-drug-approval-process-benefits-ai Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., spoke about the need to shorten the length of the drug approval process and the use of artificial intelligence, among other topics, during the AHA Annual Membership Meeting.“We at the FDA now have to ask big questions that we’ve never asked before,” Makary said. “Why does it take over 10 years for a new drug to come to market? Why are we not modernized with AI and other things?”Makary said the FDA completed its first AI-assisted scientific review for a product this week, with hopes of implementing the process agency-wide by this summer — and eventually using it to help shorten the time for drug approvals.Makary was also optimistic about AI helping with the approval of new treatments for conditions such as diabetes and certain types of cancer. Tue, 06 May 2025 14:31:09 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting Leaders discuss strategies for impacting public policy and advocating for hospitals and health systems /news/headline/2025-05-06-leaders-discuss-strategies-impacting-public-policy-and-advocating-hospitals-and-health-systems Jennifer Mendrzycki, president and CEO of TMC Health, Robert Vissers, M.D., president and CEO of Boulder Community Health, and Kristin Horvath, AHA senior associate director of federal relations, May 5 joined host Aimee Kuhlman, AHA vice president of advocacy and grassroots, to discuss the importance of advocating on behalf of hospitals and health systems and successful approaches to advocacy and grassroots at the 2025 AHA Annual Membership Meeting.“Building relationships with elected officials is just like building relationships with anyone else. Build them in the times you don’t need them, so for the times you do need them, they’re there,” Mendrzycki said. Tue, 06 May 2025 14:28:00 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting Retired Army general shares lessons from military leadership to help hospitals /news/headline/2025-05-06-retired-army-general-shares-lessons-military-leadership-help-hospitals Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal May 6 spoke at the 2025 AHA Annual Membership Meeting about navigating difficult situations as a leader, sharing examples from his military experience and how it could translate to leading hospitals and health systems. He discussed how it’s important for organizations to scale, work efficiently, control and adapt over time. “If you’re able to do that, you’re in good shape,” McChrystal said. Tue, 06 May 2025 14:20:53 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting AHA honors federal health care leaders /news/headline/2025-05-05-aha-honors-federal-health-care-leaders The AHA May 5 presented two federal hospital leaders at the 2025 AHA Annual Membership Meeting with awards recognizing outstanding service to the health care field. Patricia Hastings, chief consultant and executive director for Health Outcomes of Military Exposures, Department of Veterans Affairs, was recognized with the 2025 Award for Excellence and Trina Morrisette, chief of information management, Defense Health Agency, Hearing Center for Excellence, with the 2025 Special Achievement Award.“Our federal health systems and health care workers play a pivotal role in the hospital field, continually advancing care to better serve patients across both the federal and private sectors,”&nbsp;said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack.&nbsp;“We are honored to recognize Patricia Hastings and Trina Morrisette for their exemplary leadership and unwavering dedication to their patients and communities.”These awards recognize uniformed and non-uniformed federal health care leaders who have distinguished themselves through singularly significant or innovative achievements and leadership that have contributed substantially to the mission of the federal health system. Mon, 05 May 2025 17:28:02 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting AHA leaders kick off 2025 Annual Meeting /news/headline/2025-05-05-aha-leaders-kick-2025-annual-meeting The 2025 AHA Annual Membership Meeting began May 5 with Joanne Conroy, M.D., president and CEO of Dartmouth Health and 2024 AHA board chair, discussing the importance of delivering care as hospitals and health systems face significant challenges, including potential spending cuts and harmful changes to Medicaid.“Now is our call to action,” Conroy said. “This is the time and this is the place to use our voices and experiences to fight for the causes we all agree on and care about, making our patients healthier, making our communities healthier and making this country healthier.”Conroy introduced Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health and 2025 AHA board chair, who talked about the importance of driving fundamental change to the country’s health care system, while also protecting key programs such as Medicaid and driving innovation to improve health care.“Instead of continuing to patch a system that was built for the world of 1965, let's build a system that works for the world of 2065,” Freese Decker said.At the opening plenary session, AHA president and CEO Rick Pollack acknowledged the many challenges facing hospitals and health systems and the <a href="/advocacy/aha-annual-membership-meeting-2025-advocacy-messages-card" title="message card">advocacy priorities</a>&nbsp;AHA has developed to support hospitals and their communities.&nbsp;“If there is one simple message that your legislators need to hear right now, it comes down to ‘no harmful cuts to the Medicaid program,’” Pollack said, encouraging attendees to connect with their legislators on Capitol Hill, especially as committees are expected to soon mark up the budget reconciliation bill. Pollack highlighted the need to keep the people that hospitals and health systems serve in front of politicians and policymakers. “Back it up with a story — your story&nbsp;— of how these cuts would hurt the patients and communities you serve.”In addition to protecting Medicaid, Pollack discussed rejecting so-called site-neutral payments, preserving the 340B program, and extending the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits that enable millions of Americans to buy affordable private health insurance. Mon, 05 May 2025 17:20:38 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting Reps. Moran and Schneider speak on Medicaid /news/headline/2025-05-05-reps-moran-and-schneider-speak-medicaid Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, and Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., both members of the House Ways and Means Committee, spoke to the AHA Annual Membership Meeting May 5 in a conversation moderated by Frank Sesno.Both Moran and Schneider spoke to the difficulties present in reaching a bipartisan budget agreement as the House continues work on the budget reconciliation process.“I recognize that any large changes are not easy,” Moran said. “But we are in a position in our country where we absolutely must make hard decisions so that we stay financially viable.”As some AHA members will travel to Capitol Hill tomorrow to meet with senators, representatives and staffers, Schnieder offered advice on approaching those who may not fully understand the effects Medicaid cuts may have on hospitals and health systems.“You’ve got to meet people where they are and help them come to where you need them to be,” Schneider said. “What’s the impact on our rural hospitals, on children, on senior care? … Explain why what we’re doing is going to have an impact on the people we represent, and it may not be the impact that’s intended.” Mon, 05 May 2025 17:18:48 -0500 AHA Annual Membership Meeting