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the ���������� Association (AHA) appreciates the opportunity to submit for the record our comments regarding concerns about anticompetitive conduct on the part of health care staffing agencies, some of which have been exploiting the severe shortage of health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners – includi

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quickly moved to waive a number of regulatory requirements. These waivers provided hospitals and health systems with critical flexibilities to manage what has been a prolonged and unpredictable pandemic.

 

AHA member hospitals and health systems are committed to supporting the health care workforce. We support lifting the cap on Medicare-funded physician residencies; boosting support for nursing schools and faculty; providing scholarships and loan forgiveness; and, expediting visas for all highly trained foreign health care workers.

Whether you are working in a clinic or a hospital, technology plays a key role in 21st century health care.

As demand for hospital care remains high and patient acuity for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 care has increased, hospitals and health systems are facing a critical shortage of workers necessary to meet that demand.

AHA Urges HRSA to delay effective withdrawal date for HPSAs designated as “proposed for withdrawal” by at least one year.

The AHA responds through multiple channels to a video opinion piece published by the New York Times entitled, “We Know the Real Cause of the Crisis in Our Hospitals. It’s Greed.”

Please contact your representatives today and urge them to sign on to a “Dear Colleague” letter circulating in the House.

These articles discuss different topics in health care ranging from environmental and health equity to the energy cost of running all the equipment in a health care setting.

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (together, the “Antitrust Agencies”) Dec. 6 and 7 will host a virtual public workshop addressing non-compete clauses in employment agreements and other forms of employee-restrictive covenants. This panel follows similar workshops hosted by the FTC in January 2020 and the DOJ in September 2019.

Together, the ���������� Association (AHA), American Medical Association (AMA) and American Nurses Association (ANA) released a new television and digital ad campaign to thank health care workers during the holiday season.

The House of Representatives today voted to pass a modified version of the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376), a roughly $1.75 trillion social spending package that includes many health care provisions. The bill, which is being considered under reconciliation procedures, is likely to undergo significant changes as it moves through the Senate in the coming weeks.

AHA’s Response to Senate Finance Committee’s Request for Information on Behavioral Health Care In the U.S.

The AHA Nov. 22 will launch a national, multi-faceted “thank you” campaign to express the organization’s profound appreciation for our nation’s hospital and health care workers and reiterate how highly they are valued.

Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and David McKinley, R- W.Va., urge the White House to enlist federal agencies to investigate price gouging by nurse staffing agencies, to protect patients in dire need of life saving health care treatment and prevent conduct that is exacerbating the shortage of nurses and continuing to strain our health care system. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a Nov.

The following are highlights of provisions included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that may affect hospitals and health systems and the communities they serve.