Advocacy

Advocacy / en Fri, 25 Apr 2025 12:31:58 -0500 Sun, 23 Feb 25 23:01:00 -0600 Rural Advocacy Agenda Archives /advocacy/2025-02-24-rural-advocacy-agenda-archives America’s rural hospitals are committed to serving their communities and ensuring local access to high-quality, affordable health care. The AHA is working to ensure federal policies and regulations are updated for 21st century innovation and care delivery, and new resources are invested in rural communities to protect access. Our rural advocacy agenda outlines key areas of focus. See previous issues below.&nbsp;<h3><a href="/system/files/media/file/2024/02/2024-rural-advocacy-agenda-f.pdf" target="_blank" title="2024 Rural Advocacy Agenda">2024 Rural Advocacy Agenda</a></h3><h3><a href="/system/files/media/file/2022/02/rural-advocacy-agenda-f.pdf" target="_blank" title="2023 Rural Advocacy Agenda">2023 Rural Advocacy Agenda</a></h3><h3><a href="/system/files/media/file/2022/02/2022_Rural_Advocacy_Agenda_Final.pdf" target="_blank" title="2022 Rural Advocacy Agenda">2022 Rural Advocacy Agenda</a></h3><h3><a href="/system/files/media/file/2021/02/2021-rural-advocacy-agenda.pdf" target="_blank">2021 Rural Advocacy Agenda</a></h3><h3><a href="/system/files/media/file/2020/01/rural-advocacy-agenda-u.pdf">2020 Rural Advocacy Agenda</a></h3><h3><a href="/system/files/media/file/2019/09/rural-advocacy-agenda-0919.pdf">2019 Rural Advocacy Agenda</a></h3>&nbsp;&nbsp; Sun, 23 Feb 2025 23:01:00 -0600 Advocacy Affordability Advocacy Agenda /affordability-advocacy-agenda <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><h2>Advancing Affordability, Value, and Equity in Health Care Priorities for America’s Hospitals and Health Systems</h2>By all accounts 2020 was an unprecedented and historic year – one that tested our nation, our economy and our health care system like never before.Hospitals, health systems and post-acute care providers – along with our doctors, nurses and other team members – have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, working tirelessly to provide the best care for patients, families and communities. They have done this – and continue to do this – while facing daunting challenges. These challenges have persisted well into 2021, with continued surges of cases and hospitalizations.At the same time, individuals, employers, and the government continue to seek greater value for their health care dollars. Concerns around the affordability of health care will only grow as overall health care spending continues to rise and, especially with respect to publicly-financed programs like Medicare and Medicaid, demographic trends mean that there are fewer workers to help finance this care. There is also a renewed focus on eliminating disparities in care, closing equity gaps, and enhancing quality and patient safety – all of which are integral to achieving greater value.Our shared focus with Congress and Administration is on providing relief from the pandemic, ensuring a smooth recovery, and rebuilding a better health care system for the future. The �� Association continues to incorporate principles that promote improved affordability, value, and equity into our policy and advocacy activities. Below are some of our key priorities in these areas.<h3>Making Health Care More Affordable</h3>In recent years, health care spending growth has largely been driven by increased use and intensity of services. In other words, more people are getting care – and more care – and the care they are getting is more involved than in the past. Much of this is the result of substantial expansions in health care coverage, improved efforts to connect people to needed care, advances in medicine and technology, and growth in the prevalence of chronic disease. In some cases, prices have also risen, such as for prescription drugs. This can impact not only what individuals may pay at the pharmacy counter but also the cost of care provided by hospitals, physicians, and other providers that relies on critical drug therapies. Another substantial cost driver that has dramatically escalated in the past several years is the utilization management processes that health plans have erected and which require significant investments in technology and personnel to manage.Hospital care requires a range of inputs such as wages for clinical and other personnel, prescription drugs, administrative software and other technology, food, medical devices, utilities and professional insurance. Steep increases in the prices for certain inputs, like drugs and administrative processes mandated by health plans, can undermine hospitals’ efforts to reduce the cost of care.To address the underlying cost drivers in the health care system, we urge Congress and the Administration to:<ul><li>Rein in the rising cost of drugs, including by taking steps to increase competition among drug manufacturers; improve transparency in drug pricing; and advance value-based payment models for drugs.</li><li>In the same vein, protect the 340B drug savings program to ensure structurally marginalized communities have access to more affordable drug therapies by reversing harmful policies and holding drug manufacturers accountable to the rules of the program, especially as it relates to community pharmacy arrangements.</li><li>Reduce administrative waste by streamlining prior authorization requirements and processes for hospitals and post-acute care providers, so that clinicians can spend more of their time and resources on direct patient care, not pushing paper and arguing with insurance companies over administrative delays and coverage denials.</li><li>Promote greater efficiency and safeguards against unnecessary burden in HIPAA administrative standards and other rules related to billing and ensure an achievable roadmap toward greater adoption of standard transactions.</li><li>Reduce unnecessary costs in the system by passing comprehensive medical liability reform, including caps on non-economic damages and allowing courts to limit attorneys’ contingency fees.</li></ul><h3>Improving the Affordability of Coverage</h3>In addition, we urge Congress and the Administration to take additional steps to make health care coverage more affordable and easier to use for patients. The entire point of insurance is to share large and unanticipated costs across a pool of people. Coverage is essential for making health care affordable for individuals and families in the same way car insurance enables individual drivers to weather the bad fortune of an unexpected crash. While we have made substantial gains in health coverage over the past decade, we are just beginning to fully understand the crisis of under-insurance that is primarily being driven by high deductible health plans.The AHA supports bolstering our current public/private framework for coverage to close the remaining coverage gaps and taking immediate steps to ensure that patients do not face financial barriers to using their coverage. We encourage policymakers to preserve and build on the strong foundation of employer-sponsored coverage and further strengthen the individual market while ensuring that Medicare and Medicaid are available to those who rely on these programs. Specifically, we encourage Congress and the Administration to:<ul><li>Take additional steps to close coverage gaps, including by building on the existing incentives to encourage all states to expand Medicaid, making permanent the recent expansions in eligibility and the level of subsidies for coverage on the Health Insurance Marketplaces, and expanding existing outreach and enrollment efforts to ensure that every U.S. resident knows their options for coverage.</li><li>End the sale of products purporting to be health plans but that do not meet all of the consumer protections established in federal law, such as health sharing ministries and short-term limited duration coverage products which can leave patients with high and unexpected medical bills as a result of gaps in coverage.</li><li>Restrict the sale of high deductible health plans to consumers who can afford the associated cost-sharing obligations.</li><li>Ensure patients can rely on their coverage by disallowing health plans from inappropriately delaying and denying care, including by making mid-year coverage changes.</li><li>Protect patients from surprise medical bills and ensure that the implementing regulations do not unintentionally distort health care markets and reduce patient access to care.</li><li>Support price transparency efforts by ensuring patients have access to the information they seek when preparing for care, including cost estimates when appropriate, and creating alignment of federal price transparency requirements to avoid patient confusion and overly burdensome duplication of efforts.</li></ul><h2>Advancing Value through Health System Transformation and Enhancements in Quality</h2><h3>Health System Transformation</h3>In addition to making the health care system more affordable, hospitals and health systems are committed to ensuring that each dollar brings value. We will achieve this by continuously striving to deliver the highest quality care most efficiently, and that will require rethinking how and where we deliver care. We will also look for opportunities for providers to collaborate with payers and employers to ensure aligned incentives to achieve value, including identifying effective models of risk where appropriate.The last decade brought significant changes in the health care landscape, but nothing has accelerated changes in the delivery of health care like the COVID-19 pandemic. During the public health emergency, hospitals and health systems were able to innovate at a pace and scale previously unseen as a result not only of the realities of containing a pandemic but also the regulatory flexibility provided by states and the federal government.The AHA is eager to continue these advances and supports policies that:<ul><li>Expand use of telehealth, broadband and digital technologies by providing Medicare and Federal Communications Commission funding, coverage, and reimbursement for such services, technology and workforce training.</li><li>Implement policies to better integrate and coordinate behavioral health services with physical health services.</li><li>Build on the progress in modernizing the Stark Law and Anti-kickback Statute regulations that better protect arrangements that promote value-based care.</li><li>Allow providers to determine how best to utilize electronic health records (EHRs) and other technologies while promoting interoperability and access to health information for clinical care and patient engagement.</li><li>Provide robust support to ensure electronic communication between acute care hospitals and psychiatric hospitals and providers, and to encourage psychiatric hospitals and mental health providers to optimally use EHRs.</li><li>Advance use of innovative technologies and software (e.g., clinical decision support algorithms) without increasing regulatory burden by supporting policies that enable clinicians to have the data they need to treat patients and improve health outcomes.</li><li>Invest in health care infrastructure by expanding access to virtual care technologies and high-speed internet, strengthening the capacity and capability for emergency preparedness and response, assisting hospitals in “right-sizing” to meet the needs of their communities, and ensuring adequate financing mechanisms are in place for hospitals and health systems, including for training the workforce.</li><li>Address the impact that social determinants of health have on patient outcomes by improving care coordination and expanding the tools hospitals can use to meet these needs.</li><li>Advance rural health care alternatives to ensure sustainable care delivery and financing including: exploring rural pre-payment models; supporting additional inpatient/outpatient transformation strategies; promoting virtual care strategies; allowing innovative partnerships; and refining existing models that support hospitals serving historically marginalized communities.</li><li>Explore a new payment mechanism for metropolitan anchor institutions that treat a disproportionate number of government-funded or uninsured patients.</li></ul><h3>Enhancing Quality and Patient Safety</h3>America’s hospitals and health systems are world-renowned for the quality of care they provide and are always striving to do even better. Clinicians at U.S. hospitals set the global standard in COVID-19 care, such as by optimizing the use of ventilators for those patients who would most benefit from them. – knowledge that was then shared around the world.There is no limit to hospitals’ and health systems’ commitment to quality. However, policy changes are needed to facilitate the identification and adoption of best clinical practices, including addressing challenges with public quality reporting and incentive programs. The AHA encourages policymakers to:<ul><li>Continue to streamline and coordinate quality measures in national programs to focus on the “measures that matter” most to improving health and outcomes while reducing burden on providers. These measures should be based on evidence that demonstrates meaningful improvements in patient outcomes are achievable by improving adherence to the measures.</li><li>Advocate for modernized conditions of participation, interpretative guidance and Joint Commission standards that hold hospitals accountable for taking actions that lead to higher-quality and safer care.</li><li>Enhance the effectiveness of the physician quality payment program by advocating for more accurate and meaningful cost measures and data-driven implementation of new program approaches.</li><li>Promote advanced illness management to better honor patients’ wishes at the end-of-life and remove barriers to expanding access to palliative care services.</li><li>Enhance care coordination and improve patient safety by implementing through rulemaking Sec. 3221 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which revises and better aligns the outdated 42 CFR Part 2 regulations with HIPAA, allowing the responsible sharing of substance use disorder treatment records for the purposes of treatment, payment and health care operations.</li></ul><h3>Advancing Health Equity, Eliminating Health Care Disparities, and Increasing Diversity and Inclusion</h3>The COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. has shown the country what all hospital and health systems leaders have known for years: serious gaps exist in access, cost and quality for patients based on race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, age, sexual orientation or other demographic and socio-economic factors. Hospitals and health systems are committed to doing the work to address health equity issues. The AHA and its Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) are also committed to advancing health equity, eliminating health care disparities and increasing diversity and inclusion. The AHA supports policies that:<ul><li>Pursue strategies and support public policies aimed at improving maternal and child health outcomes with a particular focus on eliminating racial and ethnic disparities.</li><li>Promote health equity by encouraging cultural humility training in medical residency programs and in-service training for health care professionals.</li><li>Promote inclusion of adjustment for sociodemographic factors in quality measurement programs where appropriate to ensure performance measurement and payment adjustments support the efforts to make meaningful improvements.</li><li>Support coordinated collection of race and ethnicity data across federal agencies to elevate understanding of health care needs in Black and Latino Americans, Native Americans and other communities of color.</li><li>Increase funding for the health equity infrastructure in the Department of Health and Human Services, including the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, to better research and address the needs of communities of color.</li><li>Support efforts to increase diversity in the health care workforce, including through federal grants to minority-serving institutions for scholarships.</li><li>Repeal the June 2020 final rule that narrowed the scope of non-discrimination protections under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.</li></ul></div><div class="col-md-4"><a href="/system/files/media/file/2019/09/report-affordability-agenda-0919.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA Affordability Advocacy Agenda 2021 PDF."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Page-1-Affordability-Advocacy-Agenda-2021-10-15.jpg" data-entity-uuid="f0cf703c-d05d-4774-9ecd-c00015b522d3" data-entity-type="file" alt="Page one of the AHA Affordability Advocacy Agenda 2021." width="2550" height="3311"></a><div class="external-link spacer"><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2019/09/report-affordability-agenda-0919.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA Affordability Advocacy Agenda 2021 PDF.">Download PDF</a></div><a href="/costsofcaring" target="_blank" title="Click here for more information."><img src="/sites/default/files/2022-08/costs-of-caring-report-cover_Page_1.png" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Costs of Caring 2022 Cover." width="1159" height="1500"></a><div class="external-link spacer"><a class="btn btn-primary btn-wide" href="/system/files/media/file/2022/04/2022-Hospital-Expenses-Increase-Report-Final-Final.pdf" target="_blank">Download PDF</a></div><div class="panel module-typeC"><div class="panel-heading"><h3 class="panel-title">Affordability Resources</h3></div><div class="panel-body group2"><a href="/issue-brief/2019-09-18-real-affordability-solutions-front-lines-caring" target="_blank" title="Click here to go to the Real Affordability Solutions from the Front Lines of Caring landing page.">Real Affordability Solutions from the Front Lines of Caring</a><a href="/costsofcaring" target="_blank" title="Click here to view the Cost of Caring report.">Cost of Caring</a><a href="/standardsguidelines/2021-10-08-partnerships-mergers-and-acquisitions-can-provide-benefits-certain" target="_blank">Partnerships, Mergers, and Acquisitions Can Provide Benefits to Certain Hospitals and Communities</a><a href="/guidesreports/2021-09-21-financial-effects-covid-19-hospital-outlook-remainder-2021" target="_blank">Financial Effects of COVID-19: Hospital Outlook for the Remainder of 2021</a><a href="/guidesreports/2021-09-09-results-2018-tax-exempt-hospitals-schedule-h-community-benefit-reports" target="_blank">Results from 2018 Tax-Exempt Hospitals’ Schedule H Community Benefit Reports</a><a href="/news/perspective/2021-10-08-perspective-confronting-commercial-insurers-practices-threaten-patient" target="_blank">Perspective: Confronting Commercial Insurers’ Practices that Threaten Patient Care</a><a href="/news/blog/2021-07-12-lown-institute-report-hospital-community-benefits-falls-short" target="_blank">Lown Institute Report on Hospital Community Benefits Falls Short</a><a href="/news/headline/2021-09-28-study-health-insurance-market-becoming-more-concentrated">Study: Health insurance market becoming more concentrated</a><a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/competition-health-insurance-research">Report: American Medical Association Report on Competition in the Health Insurance</a></div></div></div></div></div> Tue, 13 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0500 Advocacy AHA Site-neutral Advocacy Alliance Bulletin - August 5, 2024 ACTION NEEDED: Talk to Lawmakers this August on Important Issues Facing Hospitals and Health SystemsWhen lawmakers return to Washington after the election, there will only be a few short weeks of legislating left before the end of the year — and many of hospitals’ most important issues are still on the table.While AHA makes the case in Washington, D.C., hospital and health system leaders must reinforce these important messages back home. Your legislators listen to you because you live, work, vote and provide care in their communities. Lawmakers need to hear how congressional support is necessary to ensure hospitals can provide the 24/7 access to care that patients and communities depend on.Among other issues, AHA encourages you to ask your lawmakers to <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.advocacy.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGUwhwKX3otIcUcZQ4iC4RdQLPVHoKoPLdVsEXfU_NjQUCKydoo7tXMihXxqHgqfo-313YGVms%3D&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Caf04b994d3e04bcf09ad08dcb5628ddf%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638584682100355119%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=x%2BdP3lEI%2FdvV22FX1MnqjcwLI6%2BEoNh1MRRTijiUdn4%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">reject so-called site-neutral payment proposals</a>. When Congress returns from recess, AHA expects to see continued efforts to push proposals that would enact additional site-neutral payment cuts. Urge your lawmakers to oppose any site-neutral payment proposal, as they would impose billions of dollars in additional Medicare payment cuts for services provided by hospital outpatient departments. It’s important to emphasize that these proposals would reduce patient access to vital health care services, particularly in rural and other medically underserved communities.See <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.advocacy.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGUwhwKX1ntwz4nneclIxQLDxKnjGU-XzFv-7Ugw3QI6hRHCAcpKA7W4OfHeorcA6xzAHI1WEA%3D&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Caf04b994d3e04bcf09ad08dcb5628ddf%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638584682100361069%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=0ZF4nYZUrfNLR8IyXLZ0zI%2FvTbxcL%2BE3XaMP6R%2FdKCg%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">AHA’s Action Alert</a> highlighting important issues to discuss with lawmakers and tools and resources to assist in your advocacy, including a new <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.advocacy.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGUwhwKX5QCDvlmYD3VUHNPLlrFjWjF8t6uT0Vqfyf5CwsTAP-B_lVUinFcZFlDM0Eb8b5eaQE%3D&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Caf04b994d3e04bcf09ad08dcb5628ddf%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638584682100366724%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=CZUYAJmQl2RQZyBPj3Sx9XY0A6sgNI3uELK6HpLdn3I%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">fact sheet</a> on hospital outpatient billing departments and a <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.advocacy.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGUwhwKXyFHhQgd3D_xf4tFgbDXl-rgSzVdQPNVsUoJ9Jp4Yp3OmCqXnbM_XyYNtlsGLcS6Bso%3D&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Caf04b994d3e04bcf09ad08dcb5628ddf%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638584682100372276%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Nbf1D8DB%2BYPCYVA%2BM%2F%2F6mrng%2BM9%2FW8EwZYEdfG3L2qQ%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">myth vs. fact infographic</a> on site-neutral payment policies.AHA: ‘Flawed’ site-neutral policies fail to recognize not all care sites are created equalIn response to a recent Washington Post op-ed favoring site-neutral payment, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack writes in a letter to the editor published July 26 that site-neutral policies "fail to recognize that not all care sites are created equal," and that "Hospitals are also held to higher regulatory and safety standards, and they provide benefits such as 24/7 capacity for emergencies."&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.advocacy.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGUwhwKX2xwkJkq_NSM24E4VhmX5VUhDtGmGvnYWb9nIcgqRHj7Xc0F7nfHPvCbgvwI1zvd7J8%3D&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Caf04b994d3e04bcf09ad08dcb5628ddf%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638584682100377776%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=A9zYlJVE5Wr%2BNG%2FAOtf6CUUf8Oo%2BiNNQNXxkuwVQefU%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">READ MORE</a>Fact sheet by Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare shows nearly half of emergency department visits happen after hoursA <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.advocacy.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGUwhwKXzWa31DNuVepygOYv016MugS41b1l_4zKs3F476yEAqycPw00dFbLDNqKIeyL8J7eS4%3D&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Caf04b994d3e04bcf09ad08dcb5628ddf%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638584682100383344%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=3t%2FVT%2FmIOBgCDIV98PDaW6HgRMNzE2lIU6c9o2jDEPs%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">fact sheet</a> released July 29 by the Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare features analysis from KNG Health Consulting that shows nearly half of all hospital emergency department visits occur after hours (between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m.) when patient care options are limited. The analysis found that children are particularly more likely to receive care at an ED outside of normal business hours. It also found that of the 136 million ED visits in 2021, 18.1 million were in rural areas and 34.3 million visits that year were trauma-related. The AHA is a founding member of the Coalition.Op-ed from Former Pennsylvania Governor Says Don’t Cut Hospital Care for PatientsIn an Aug. 2&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.advocacy.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGUwhwKX_4bUEA73xXMlxzJFDcMQCHfMW0rwp4SD2rqG-CAFVoAcetgY9Q-bGo8azKCZ-cVKc8%3D&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Caf04b994d3e04bcf09ad08dcb5628ddf%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638584682100388856%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=qTrv%2BKILhKJotP09wpleXYD4Yx0mqQsd%2Ffx3R3RF%2BYE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">op-ed</a>&nbsp;from former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gov. Corbett highlights how hospitals, especially those in rural areas, are facing significant financial challenges and how some proposals being considered by Congress would cut patient care by slashing billions of dollars in funding to hospitals.“If these bad ideas make it out of the Beltway and become law, even more hospitals would have to shrink their services or shut their doors … We can do better. I urge lawmakers to reject policies that would cut patient care and focus on real solutions that support our hospitals, our healthcare workers, and our residents’ access to care.” Mon, 05 Aug 2024 14:29:15 -0500 Advocacy AHA Annual Membership Meeting 2024 Advocacy Messages Card /advocacy/2024-04-09-aha-annual-membership-meeting-2024-advocacy-messages-card <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8">America’s hospitals and health systems provide high-quality care to all patients in every community across the country.However, hospitals and health systems continue to face unprecedented challenges, including workforce shortages, soaring costs of providing care, severe underpayment by Medicare and Medicaid, and overwhelming regulatory burdens. These challenges are jeopardizing patients’ access to 24/7 care and services.Your mission on Capitol Hill is to urge Congress to:<ol><li>Reject funding cuts and extend key policies to ensure patients’ access to care.</li><li>Support and strengthen the health care workforce.</li><li>Hold commercial insurers accountable for practices that delay, deny and disrupt care.</li><li>Bolster support to enhance cybersecurity of hospitals and the entire health care system.</li></ol><h2>1. Reject Funding Cuts and Extend Key Policies to Ensure Patients’ Access to Care</h2><h3>Reject Harmful Site-neutral Payment Policies</h3><ul><li>Reject Medicare cuts to hospital care that threaten patients’ 24/7 access to essential health services, especially in rural and underserved communities.</li><li>Site-neutral proposals fail to recognize that hospital outpatient departments: treat sicker, lower-income Medicare patients with more complex and chronic conditions than those treated in independent physician offices or ambulatory surgery centers; maintain emergency stand-by services such as ICUs; and are held to stricter regulatory and safety requirements than other sites of care.</li><li>Medicare already severely underpays hospitals for the care they provide to patients. In 2022, Medicare paid a record low 82 cents for every dollar spent by hospitals caring for Medicare patients, resulting in about $100 billion in Medicare underpayments that year alone.</li></ul><h3>Prevent Medicaid DSH Cuts</h3><ul><li>Address the billions in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 2025. Without congressional action, these hospitals will find it challenging to serve patients and their communities.</li></ul><h3>Protect Access to Care in Rural Communities</h3><ul><li>Pass legislation to extend the Medicare-dependent hospital program and enhanced low-volume adjustment program, which are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2024.</li></ul><h3>Protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program</h3><ul><li>Protect the 340B program from any harmful changes to ensure access to more affordable drug therapies and programs that advance health.</li></ul><h3>Extend Telehealth and Hospital-at-Home Programs</h3><ul><li>Extend or make permanent coverage of certain telehealth services made possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as create a permanent hospital-at-home program.</li></ul><h3>Create a Metropolitan Anchor Hospital Designation</h3><ul><li>Create a new designation of metropolitan anchor hospital for certain hospitals that provide critical health care services to marginalized and underrepresented communities.</li></ul><h2>2. Support and Strengthen the Health Care Workforce</h2><h3>Urge Cosponsorship of the SAVE Act</h3><ul><li>Urge your senators and representatives to cosponsor the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 2584/S. 2768), which would provide federal protections for health care workers similar to those that apply to aircraft and airport workers. Although hospitals and health systems have worked diligently to establish protocols and programs to protect employees and promote a safe environment for patient care, violence against health care workers has escalated in recent years.</li></ul><h3>Mitigate Health Care Provider Shortages</h3><ul><li>Enact the Healthcare Workforce Resiliency Act (H.R. 6205/S. 3211) that would recapture 25,000 unused employment-based visas for foreign-born nurses and 15,000 for foreign-born physicians to help address staffing shortages.</li><li>Pass the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act (S. 665/H.R. 4942) to extend and expand the Conrad State 30 J-1 visa waiver program, which waives the requirement to return home for a period if physicians holding a J-1 visa agree to stay in the U.S. for three years to practice in a federally designated underserved area.</li></ul><h3>Support America’s Front-line Workers</h3><ul><li>Reauthorize the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act through 2029 to provide grants to help health care organizations offer behavioral health services for front-line health care workers.</li></ul><h2>3. Hold Commercial Insurers Accountable for Practices that Delay, Deny and Disrupt Care</h2><h3>Streamline Prior Authorization</h3><ul><li>Enact efforts to streamline prior authorization requirements and operations to facilitate patients’ access to timely care, reduce burdens on health care providers and decrease administrative costs.</li></ul><h3>Require Insurers to Promptly Pay for Care Provided</h3><ul><li>Enact policies to increase oversight and accountability of commercial health plans, including establishing more stringent standards for timely payment to address certain insurer tactics that delay and deny payment to health care providers.</li></ul><h3>Enhance Oversight of Commercial Insurers</h3><ul><li>Support appropriate federal oversight of anticompetitive deals and business conducted by large commercial health insurance companies, including continuing to press the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division to challenge anticompetitive deals.</li></ul><h2>4. Bolster Support to Enhance Cybersecurity of Hospitals and the Entire Health Care System</h2><h3>Strengthen Cybersecurity Efforts</h3><ul><li>Hospitals have invested billions of dollars and taken many steps to protect patients and defend their networks from cyberattacks that can disrupt patient care and erode privacy by the loss of personal health care data.</li><li>Congress and the Administration should address cybersecurity challenges in the health care field holistically, including strengthening federal coordination and helping providers and business associates prepare for and respond to cyber threats.</li></ul><h3>Support for Voluntary Goals, Not Penalties</h3><ul><li>Support federal voluntary cybersecurity performance goals that would be implemented by all facets of the health care sector.</li><li>Oppose proposals for mandatory cybersecurity requirements and penalties being levied on hospitals as if they were at fault for the success of hackers in perpetrating a crime.</li><li>Many recent cyberattacks against the health care system, including the Change Healthcare cyberattack, have originated from insecure third-party technology, business associates and other vendors – not hospitals. Singling out hospitals for regulation, imposing fines or cutting Medicare payments will not effectively mitigate the systemic cyber risk the entire sector faces. This would reduce hospital resources to combat cybercrime and be counterproductive to preventing cyberattacks.</li></ul></div><div class="col-md-4"><div class="panel module-typeC"><div class="panel-heading"><h3 class="panel-title">Resources to Support Your Advocacy Efforts</h3></div><div class="panel-body">Visit the �� Association Action Center at <a href="/actioncenter">www.aha.org/actioncenter</a> for the latest action alerts, fact sheets, advocacy training and resources, congressional office information and more.</div></div><hr><a href="/system/files/media/file/2024/04/AHA-Annual-Membership-Meeting-2024-Advocacy-Messages-Card.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the printable and foldable AHA Annual Membership Meeting 2024 Advocacy Messages Card PDF."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Page-1-AHA-Annual-Membership-Meeting-2024-Advocacy-Messages-Card-20240415.png" data-entity-uuid="e97f6dd8-bebb-475b-a6bd-ce9f29b410ab" data-entity-type="file" alt="AHA Annual Membership Meeting 2024 Advocacy Messages Card front side." width="900" height="695"></a><div class="external-link spacer"><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2024/04/AHA-Annual-Membership-Meeting-2024-Advocacy-Messages-Card.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the printable and foldable AHA Annual Membership Meeting 2024 Advocacy Messages Card PDF.">Download the Advocacy Messages Card PDF</a></div></div></div></div> Sun, 14 Apr 2024 06:00:00 -0500 Advocacy Congressional Site Visits: Before, During and After <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><h2>Why to Host an In-person Site Visit at Your Hospital&nbsp;</h2>Members of Congress (MOCs) navigate a complex landscape of information when making policy decisions, drawing insights from staff research, external experts, personal experiences and constituent feedback. While the �� Association (AHA) serves as a strong advocate in Washington, D.C., where we champion the priorities of hospitals and health systems, there is no substitute for lawmakers hearing from, and directly engaging with, their constituents. Those constituents include you and your team of hospital leaders; the health care workers that provide care every day; and the patients who rely upon your facility for the health care needs of themselves, their families and their loved ones.&nbsp;As a hospital leader, you serve as a cornerstone of your local community and economy. Your position grants you a unique and influential perspective. The challenges, successes and opportunities your organization faces have far-reaching impacts on the district your MOCs represent. This is why your MOCs want to hear from you firsthand. Your voice matters and can have a profound effect in shaping your MOCs’ health care policy priorities.&nbsp;What better way to help your MOCs understand your hospital’s priorities than inviting them to see it in person? A site visit is a valuable tool to engage and inform your elected officials and ensure that the story they hear about hospitals reflects the reality you and your team experience each and every day. When you extend an invitation to visit your hospital, you are not only opening your doors to these important guests; you are also opening a dialogue that has the potential to shape policies in ways that align more closely with the actual needs and challenges hospitals and health systems face.<h3>Start Here</h3><ul><li>Think through event logistics and determine what type of site visit would be the most beneficial. Is this just a tour? Is a roundtable discussion helpful? Should there be a portion of the visit in which press are in attendance?&nbsp;</li><li>Consider what days of the week are best to visit your site and consider what wings or areas of the hospital should be included on a tour.&nbsp;</li><li>Do background research on the MOCs you plan to invite. What issues are they passionate about? Do they have personal connections to your hospital or to health care challenges?</li><li>Determine who on your team will be the main point of contact for logistics between your team and the MOC’s office.</li></ul><h3>Before the Visit&nbsp;</h3><ul><li>Contact your MOC’s scheduler in their state office. Explain that you would like to invite the MOC and their staff to your hospital for a tour and short discussion. Ask when the MOC will next be in the district and work to schedule a visit while they are nearby.&nbsp;</li><li>Feel free to offer some possible dates/times but be as flexible on timing as possible as MOCs and their schedulers are juggling numerous meetings and requests. Continue to be persistent with your request if you have not received any response. Use the House and Senate calendars to plan around congressional work periods and offer opportunities for meetings when MOCs will be on a break or, in some cases, preparing for an important vote. These are key times to schedule site visits.&nbsp;</li><li>Ensure that multiple members of your staff are available to talk about different areas of the hospital. Some helpful attendees include a physician or chief medical officer; the chief or director of nursing; a human resources representative; and a member of the finance team.&nbsp;</li><li>Include in your tour group frontline staff who care for patients and give them opportunities to talk with the MOC about their first-hand experiences. While the meeting should include upper management, the strength of a site visit is the opportunity for MOCs to gain first-hand knowledge and insight on all facets of hospital operations, and their conversations should not be limited to uppermanagement discussions.&nbsp;</li><li>Book enough time to give the member a tour of the hospital as well as a brief time for questions and answers. Keep the visit under two hours for the sake of the MOC’s schedule and your own.&nbsp;</li><li>Narrow down your issues and concerns to discuss with the MOC to a few top-line items. Consider creating a one-page handout to provide along with an informational folder about your hospital. Include important information, such as services provided, number of personnel, other locations, services within the community, awards, information about key people and other interesting facts. This will give the MOC and their staff a quick and easy look at your organization and the role it plays in your community.&nbsp;</li><li>Determining whether press will be invited to the event is a decision that should be made in partnership with the MOC. Check with the MOC’s office to see if they plan to notify the press of the visit or let them know that you are not comfortable with press presence, if that is the case. If you and the MOC’s office agree to allow the press in, make sure the MOC’s office understands this tour is an opportunity to learn more about your organization and not a campaign opportunity. Assign one of your staff to work with the legislator’s communications team and the press. You’ll also need to determine in advance what parts of the visit are offlimits. Also, make sure all proper procedures are followed to maintain patient privacy.&nbsp;</li><li>Please note, your hospital cannot provide food for the MOC or their staff due to ethics laws, so try to avoid visits during mealtimes.</li></ul><h3>During the Visit&nbsp;</h3><ul><li>Greet the MOC and any staff and make introductions at the beginning of the visit.&nbsp;</li><li>Start with a tour.<ul><li>Ensure that the MOC is able to see the day-to-day operations and challenges of your hospital.</li><li>Do not spend the bulk of your time showing the newest equipment or wing (although those are fine to point out).</li><li>Make sure that the MOC sees the pain points as well. Share how you are addressing challenges and where you see opportunities for growth in serving the community.</li></ul></li><li>The goal of the visit is for the MOC to understand how your hospital is benefitting the community and for them to create a personal connection with you and the hospital. Introduce them to your staff. Invite questions about your processes. Do not shy away from challenging topics such as reimbursement. Show the MOC how the funds generated by the hospital are being put into providing good care for the community.</li><li>&nbsp;Reserve a conference room and leave about 30 minutes following the tour for additional discussion and questions and answers. This is a good time to bring in your additional staff members from different areas of the hospital. Do not turn this time into a long presentation about the hospital. Allow the MOC to ask questions. If questions lag, ask specific questions of your team to give them an opportunity to highlight a challenge or success. For example, ask your finance representative about the challenge of prior authorization or Medicare reimbursements.</li><li>Keep to the schedule. Wrap-up by the agreed-upon end time. Leave yourself a calendar buffer in case the MOC wants to stay and ask questions but be sensitive to the fact that the MOC’s scheduler has many invitations to juggle.</li><li>Ensure the MOC before leaving has your personal contact information and an invitation to reach out with future, additional questions.</li></ul><h3>After the Visit&nbsp;</h3><ul><li>Follow up with the MOC’s staff and thank them for their part in organizing the visit.&nbsp;</li><li>Send the MOC’s staffer an email with electronic copies of any hard-copy informational documents you provided during the visit.&nbsp;</li><li>Post about the visit on social media. Let your community know you had a positive visit with the MOC, and you appreciate their representation in Congress.&nbsp;</li><li>Engage in long-term follow-up. Invite the MOC to events at the hospital (groundbreakings, award ceremonies, anniversary celebrations, etc.). Send a quarterly check-in message and let the MOC know what is happening and how they can help.</li><li>Say thank you. Mail or email a note of thanks for the MOC’s time at your hospital and all they do to represent your district. Don’t stop with one, though. If you hear of the MOC doing something in Congress that is helpful to your hospital, say thank you. MOCs hear about problems all day every day, and much more rarely hear thanks.</li></ul><hr>Special note: Hospitals are prohibited by law from employing resources to influence voter preferences or the outcome of an election. Please see the “Legal Do’s and Don’ts” at www.aha.org if you have questions about permissible activities or consult with your lawyers and/or AHA legal counsel.</div><div class="col-md-4"><div class="panel module-typeC"><a href="/system/files/media/file/2024/03/AHA-Site-Visit-Guidance-final.pdf" title="Click to download Congressional Site Visits: Before, During and After PDF"><img src="/sites/default/files/2024-03/congressional-site-visits-guidance-cover.png" alt="Click to download Congressional Site Visits: Before, During and After PDF" title="Congressional Site Visits: Before, During and After PDF"></a><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2024/03/AHA-Site-Visit-Guidance-final.pdf" title="Click to download Congressional Site Visits: Before, During and After PDF">Download Guidance</a></div></div></div></div> Fri, 01 Mar 2024 12:48:35 -0600 Advocacy Post-Acute Care Advocacy Alliance Update - October 12, 2023 AHA Webinar&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;MEDICARE ADVANTAGE CHANGES&nbsp; Medicare Advantage: Hospital perspectives and next steps on the CY24 MA final rule November 15, 2023 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET Join the �� Association and a panel of experts from member hospitals and health systems to discuss <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdDG9h12i7LWy_1rI7dn1nwKxZGmcHSRRVvlBGNlJXSIQl6Fm3GhvlBoFU_dbiNoAF2g%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Hbjzd0lj4ZTLgGO%2FgvEUWKhYYoKcM6XwRBbRVJJFhWI%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdDG9h12i7LWy_1rI7dn1nwKxZGmcHSRRVvlBGNlJXSIQl6Fm3GhvlBoFU_dbiNoAF2g=" shash="Pb5ETNoXhWunWY/+MKSURicRnf94KBOTj+dU5dQ8etZbvPUQ+kW87mXhpqjSJiMFykoLS92Pmmf5xtvnk+rWnAhIUgWkghyIz5oy+htkqnXds7E5LhfQFbUXSUC46KoVGaT6/Ff2yALfcrqK5BWp6zXkBCiRa3lDqn/O3h6B96s=">recent changes to the Medicare Advantage program</a> that were finalized by the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services earlier this year. With new rules going into effect Jan. 1, 2024, AHA staff will review key changes, and we’ll hear from expert panelists about the potential implications for health care providers, how their organizations are preparing for the regulatory changes, and what hospitals and health systems can do to help hold insurers accountable. To learn more about the provisions included in the CY2024 MA Final Rule, please see attached <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdLqVX8V6dzgGFdOZEN3iBLuDzvMMOwA-TyAaUzXmlUyH_v-wLcbVK9VThDlqUHSDKko%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=c0xPofIxjjIXsiEVrqbDE7FIS8RA20RJEl1UYxBuGa0%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdLqVX8V6dzgGFdOZEN3iBLuDzvMMOwA-TyAaUzXmlUyH_v-wLcbVK9VThDlqUHSDKko=" shash="p/YYFTCFF+pm2GIJLzNsraHDgUm6MUceUt7toqu58GahdFzmK2ejTrN2IAM6uygdSMvNeBEmtlLf4d+ir35QpPNBfGcIXQfnve8T7xIK27w+tjlxX5jV9rv7uQIsMlbhOt/f4WcnuedjMXa6H+BBXi13vy/B+ZlpiriG6oyF9ks=" target="_blank">AHA Regulatory Advisory</a>.&nbsp; <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRczxLDcCZvUM2Q5oMZQKHju9gwRNObWAb9ZIu0btio86-JqKbnBX2tuoi9CeXc8ZPN1c%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=9lm12BBtIx8zdZHIH5A2ZJzL239go5GUtnPGkQuzAjo%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRczxLDcCZvUM2Q5oMZQKHju9gwRNObWAb9ZIu0btio86-JqKbnBX2tuoi9CeXc8ZPN1c=" shash="e9aKoqccOHwwEEllH8OhJMF1UEwDI9aLr9m9xdCJbtxTR6SjpdxqevHjcfyoxSgohYh1/SrBsxzMy8QC+2mcAe/VGu0yJD0FAZau7hUx0+hDnQ5UWxNCVs9mY4iH273bNfy6uwXpKOVU9uoD+ceTjbEV5FIPHNP52HQXWHk1Wro=" target="_blank">Click here</a>&nbsp;to register. Panelists&nbsp; &nbsp; Brent Carson, MBA Chief Revenue Cycle Officer University Hospitals&nbsp; Edward Hu, MD, CHCQM-PHYADV&nbsp; System Executive Director, Hospital Physician Advisor Services UNC Health Care System Richelle Marting,&nbsp;JD, MHSA, RHIA, CPC, CEMC, CPMA Director of Managed Care North Kansas City Hospital &nbsp; Moderator: Michelle Millerick, Senior Associate Director, Health Insurance Coverage Policy, �� Association <hr /> AHA EVENT&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;POST-ACUTE CARE&nbsp;ADVOCACY CALLS New platform for Post-acute Care Advocacy calls; next call scheduled for&nbsp;Oct. 17 Please note, the platform for our monthly member calls has changed to Conference America. Join us on&nbsp;Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. ET for our next post-acute care advocacy&nbsp;call, featuring updates on regulatory news and the latest policy and legislative information in the post-acute care area. You will no longer need to register, simply dial into each call using the following phone number and passcode on Oct. 17 and Nov. 14. Dial-in Number: (877) 280-9413 Passcode: 48328586 As always, we welcome your ideas and suggestions for future calls.&nbsp;Please send your ideas for topics and/or speakers to <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdLamxaKUjCFdP3E9zqlD6Em9KVhcHbdmaY9ciUsrWhuMZtBfP25fYBkH4-lqgfrhKfo%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=ODqraYX7%2FlLKoHtMp7hLW1fd63Nn9oC4wmgVeyjXA80%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdLamxaKUjCFdP3E9zqlD6Em9KVhcHbdmaY9ciUsrWhuMZtBfP25fYBkH4-lqgfrhKfo=" shash="yNCGMxx1ws6qutOIaSvVPqn39jVg7KqYTtBQiqzxarZj11ZrXiBStP5mHcusoedjC3kExf3786IhOWqD7UHSk7giWbqC2vWr67wwne2jySCeB/2PlPiLqSxtl4aXz+58hSu1NNgvWUxZGV4oOPqKVMW5b/kDuQwn/Mr6NEYgfgU=">sbrown@aha.org</a> or <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdI0bY1fdzMQpaE0w4PHhh7Cun0NbV2oAAgi0-wLQ8PVqPSiKecSUf4p_XYNQoOSUctU%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=pGOi0rMMa762J1YzMeuGhhvpswZ4jvRkQbZ2IxHoKbA%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdI0bY1fdzMQpaE0w4PHhh7Cun0NbV2oAAgi0-wLQ8PVqPSiKecSUf4p_XYNQoOSUctU=" shash="mzEaixeC6M8cfpSiDOwsiEU7GPO2lf9OcJ85d44BR38uy2VF66xWSnogO1X3rKxmzHQULqxzVN2SkOgkQ6dqvQkpph6E8biwXuCop1lVDz6ylflr0ObwQkj0ciUYlOta+zl9NHmhuqbYklekcZXJcn9nKW5cqL2Ox2JoqhAkPHk=">rcoffey@aha.org</a>. Visit <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRc7aSfGAgK45iBIrvG1eeFKMICiArZkUMbBNCNp-x06KgUPWOHQEYXITwPFx1pnK_feE%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=5F%2B%2BCL%2BTueoN0pHJkZD6tzYPhWIAbdiiliQ2gm%2BUkeA%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRc7aSfGAgK45iBIrvG1eeFKMICiArZkUMbBNCNp-x06KgUPWOHQEYXITwPFx1pnK_feE=" shash="I7XbYn3Y9amNRPz3X6PLLr0CQu8tnlLmxTmguHB2Piac2fs49/CJXHqefij/ZLdMTYDCI0RppX3icO6wzlUO+95O4Oh6tJ076bTxmvKrTGraS8gZWVkOTL3YoSjwI9urRGO4zKXM9OTqMq+TSjYbZjV0z1iltKGDwM3udH1ADHk=" target="_blank">AHA's Post-acute Care website</a> for a full calendar of future calls, as well as recaps, audio and materials from previous calls <hr /> ADVOCACY Applications open for AHA's 2024 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Awards AHA is now accepting applications through Nov. 17 for the 2024 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Awards, which will recognize the efforts of three outstanding hospital and health care systems in advancing health equity, diversity and inclusion.&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRc8-ihwhJCnIH0TXhtfmIUEX5femislGj3JGGxVfUGpVg0eUX87RtWHYEpn21VOQc_KM%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=9UVNCDI4%2BtPcBm4KuNqHvEcJugtRDgRQwXmylsnQLLg%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRc8-ihwhJCnIH0TXhtfmIUEX5femislGj3JGGxVfUGpVg0eUX87RtWHYEpn21VOQc_KM=" shash="xkcG6COlxA1PyIPvf03HQkkz/hnIAXeUI1kdvqrjnfGWoob+u89BkNHlUyYk+veVdlxeHHM0slCkBbAkpsvS2jC71RFprti8VmMZRaWG+pE04G6sS9/d7cip665ba+UPafrwUI8g2EdRABAKMtkZdfvzpQZURy0F6zrRk6vJULQ=">LEARN MORE</a> <hr /> Obituaries: Justin Hunter of Encompass Health and Susanne Sonik, former AHA director of the Section for Post-acute Care It is with great sadness that we share the passing of two of our long-time colleagues and friends. &nbsp; Justin Hunter of Encompass Health passed away unexpectedly on Sept. 16. Justin had been a tremendously beloved and influential figure throughout the entire health care field over the last few decades, which included playing an outsized role in his contributions to the �� Association and our Post-acute Care Steering Committee. Justin was a consistently warm and thoughtful presence in our policy discussions, offering valuable insight and healthy debate, while always epitomizing civility and respect for his colleagues. His leadership on behalf of his company and the field helped ensure continued access to care for millions of patients, leaving an unmeasurable legacy. So many of us are extremely fortunate to have been able to call Justin both a colleague and a friend. We ask you to keep Justin’s close family and friends, as well as the Encompass family, in your thoughts and prayers over the coming weeks. Remembrance information can be found in this full and touching <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRczoY6AB1vctXYM2e1tvyjTDyeBlyEDX1tX5IOJUsFMoTsGmG5-X9PSNjXexWnlGnoHg%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=lg9TpFTXO2SESKw4B5ZQTLD2yu%2B%2FyJ9Bx%2FmHXXTHzpo%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRczoY6AB1vctXYM2e1tvyjTDyeBlyEDX1tX5IOJUsFMoTsGmG5-X9PSNjXexWnlGnoHg=" shash="I9p/r54AiCzoQZiI3egE23nkcJ1unz736Iiw4Y4TNQwxBOuhKnIR2Jqvi/7JPrWJpLL+JiWHWk8/zOfRJW5BPLnSj6N2vdAneUFfB//Wte5Wb4S1Dx59/puKTnMizo3PN3KkZX6OeIItQSubBFYqhPUlkL+eOFQ5Iz6SfTx/kfA=">obituary to Justin</a>, including a celebration of life being held in Washington, D.C. at 2 p.m. Oct. 14. Susanne Sonik, former director of the Section for Post-acute Care also passed away peacefully at home on Sept. 15. As an employee at AHA for 43 years, working with the Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care members for most of that time, she has left an indelible mark on the post-acute care industry and will be remembered as a long-time champion for Post-acute providers.&nbsp;Again, we ask you to keep Susanne’s close family and friends in your thoughts and prayers over the coming weeks. Remembrance information can be found in this touching <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRc6XtbjgKAX9D-Xd4YggkSyj7YVD2cLI0EGdWfFre6uyyVRsMGZIXI711TAq8NLuLlgU%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Df36i%2FbJojRVpHiBvLr%2F8%2B5558KajJhZXZqq4AS4KYY%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRc6XtbjgKAX9D-Xd4YggkSyj7YVD2cLI0EGdWfFre6uyyVRsMGZIXI711TAq8NLuLlgU=" shash="vBTJcgxxDFgp9F5TckA0HeB7ortcQF1uTfy7fYerAGL1MAsA/u8zK3LzPrSCao4OJuVUgD5iVRFakMrZPkf8Uuo2Fv/5uD0wnjBEasv18SVqqLgPeXQu4CUS9VgQVqbUR6qJ6JB9HS8yWFeTqMn6SP3BNibF05P63gHDJR0c4Yg=">obituary to Susanne</a>. <hr /> OPPORTUNITIES Post-acute Care Spotlight The AHA invites members to share your stories, blogs, podcasts, etc. that feature the work your organization and/or team members are doing in the post-acute care space. We encourage you to help us identify collaborations and equitable solutions that address access to quality post-acute care and improved health outcomes that can be shared with our members.&nbsp;&nbsp; Submit your stories&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdEL7p551y0-h7wICsf5rFKyPR-igHjOWdnzt8X7-U0UWcm6o8S2ryfKs4-Ir_ITzzEg%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7C97f13736c83048401bca08dbcb479abb%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638327280664062721%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=PeiEdzt3W%2FsX3nkZR0niVbWhsrWJov7pC9diBieM7tc%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGOw-CRdEL7p551y0-h7wICsf5rFKyPR-igHjOWdnzt8X7-U0UWcm6o8S2ryfKs4-Ir_ITzzEg=" shash="PpESF0jxm+/WDpF3jVMRjuWiKfDr3Fp3PhmS1YGhyFBCzBYRueqZNLMQ5CxLwWy0F+eVc079UrnaPqcWiBKrw/WzK6UKbwRQP+hWAk9ql5oI7RrvjP9zUlB0T4pzQnO7zxCma0IuJ0f3/Ri20pKMOHPxoDkIlNG7to0CroC6Hlg=">here</a>. <hr /> &nbsp; To access past Post-acute Care Updates, click <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUxCNOh_tjJjPHNYYMJV6_aPJtXRRMSYUg9peg8DvIbzYa8izk6Xjb9OGhe3AHJQNKO8%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=SsXoBlsgCTVsEs43GAQWQClB%2BKgnp%2FWJBkE0BICYTlM%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUxCNOh_tjJjPHNYYMJV6_aPJtXRRMSYUg9peg8DvIbzYa8izk6Xjb9OGhe3AHJQNKO8=" shash="mpx3gKyZoOtoW8PGkwzNd0yd9sdAOgoSpH/TTMu3LabFtX/ElAXnwPYUF4hpr5G2tZ4m/9JVTnnr7+c7O1oxE/chxWirDkrL/bM3Sg4zJni/kv6n6bm7b9ABdCUv05ML24NdZjRc7oL6i4kiwa6rF1s4E2L5v8SxXyEcTN5c1Mg=" target="_blank">here</a>, and check out the latest resources at the AHA Post-acute Care&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU7KDsp0ZNvfVdmpHT2aO4Kt4GgnuTmJUVz40STXJ4vnbmVEjnI-MxWPvWVL-CfERqXQ%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=suSeqt2%2F6D%2BJE3%2FGciBSyubVVLQiNc4jJt033qBamng%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU7KDsp0ZNvfVdmpHT2aO4Kt4GgnuTmJUVz40STXJ4vnbmVEjnI-MxWPvWVL-CfERqXQ=" shash="dlfAgAS1hBbzaekMJpu/Z0t4k03xItRXGX3UKMkz8NgZbG8DZvwMJ8cA5Titsv/QKMvi6+YKRd27AAxmqLqjNJ1ga5dMPw6G6G6o0qPMbZiMd0jELJ9lQvvJ6cw5Eqgow47oq2WYr6P2l611XuuS6p07wT0oN9kGnvUVHFPLKo0=" target="_blank">website</a>. Shawna L. Brown Director, Post-acute Care &amp; Federal Members Services Field Engagement Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:47:39 -0500 Advocacy Federal Public Policy and Legislative Solutions for Improving Maternal Health Sept. 2024 /advocacy/2024-09-28-federal-public-policy-and-legislative-solutions-improving-maternal-health Maternal health is a top priority for the AHA and our member hospitals and health systems, and our efforts are aimed at eliminating maternal mortality and reducing severe morbidity. As hospitals work to improve health outcomes, we are redoubling our efforts to improve maternal health across the continuum of care and reaching out to community partners to aid in this important effort. The causes of maternal mortality and morbidity are complex, including lack of consistent access to comprehensive care and persistent racial disparities in health and health care. To help improve maternal health, the AHA supports the federal public policy and legislative actions discussed below.<h2>Initiatives</h2>At the federal level, several legislative initiatives specific to maternal mortality have been enacted. Several other initiatives have been introduced in Congress the last year.<h3>Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 (Public Law No: 118-47)</h3>The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, passed in March 2024, contained funding for important maternal and child health provisions supported by the AHA. The law requires the Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA) to develop a plan on how the agency can assist birth center expansion in rural and urban maternity care deserts. The Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) is directed to provide a briefing on the Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care and Levels of Care Assessment Tool surveys.The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 included additional funding for the CDC, HRSA, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) initiatives aimed at improving maternal health and reducing the nation’s high maternal mortality rate.Programmatic funding included:<h4>CDC</h4><ul><li>$110 million for Safe Motherhood and Infant Health to improve the health of pregnant and postpartum women and their babies, including reducing disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.&nbsp;</li></ul><h4>NIH</h4><ul><li>$53 million for the Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative.</li><li>$76 million for the Office of Research on Women's Health.</li></ul><h4>HRSA</h4><ul><li>$8.8 billion to develop the workforce, improve maternal and child health outcomes and support rural health access.</li><li>$813 million for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant.</li><li>$8 million for Maternity Care Target Areas.</li><li>$5 million for grants to educate midwives to address the national shortage of maternity care providers.</li><li>$8 million for certified nurse midwives (CNMs), to grow and diversify the maternal and perinatal health nursing workforce by increasing and diversifying the number of CNMs, with a focus on practitioners working in rural and underserved communities.</li><li>$55 million for State Maternal Health Innovation Grants.</li><li>$12 million for Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS).</li><li>$2 million for family medicine/obstetrics training programs in states with high infant morbidity and mortality rates.</li></ul><h4>SAMHSA</h4><ul><li>$38.9 million for substance abuse treatment for pregnant and post-partum women.</li></ul><h2>Other Federal Initiatives</h2>The AHA supports the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act (H.R.3838/S.2415), bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize federal support for state-based maternal mortality review committees, which review pregnancy-related deaths to identify causes and make recommendations to prevent future mortalities. The bill also would require the CDC to work with the HRSA to disseminate best practices to hospitals and other health care providers to prevent maternal mortality. The bill passed the House in March and is awaiting action by the Senate.The AHA supports the ongoing funding of maternal health programs at the federal level. The Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant (MCHBG) is a funding source used to address the most pressing and unique needs of maternal and child health populations in each state, territory and jurisdiction of the United States. The program helps states assure access to quality maternal and child health care services, especially for those with low incomes or who have limited access to care. The AHA supports $1 billion for the Title V MCHBG in FY 2025.The MCH Block Grant program supports the State MCH Block Grant program, Special Projects of Regional and National Significance and Community Integrated Service Systems grants. According to data gathered by HRSA, the State MCH Block Grant program supports approximately 93% of pregnant women, 99% of infants and 61% of children. Improving maternal and child health is a major priority for the AHA.The Healthy Start program provides support for high-risk pregnant women, infants and families in communities with exceptionally high rates of infant mortality, including health care services, such as those focused on reducing maternal mortality, as well as the socioeconomic factors of poverty, education and access to care. The AHA supports $185 million in funding for FY 2025.<h2>Recommendations</h2>The AHA suggests implementing the following actions at the federal level, including:<h3>Continue efforts to expand Medicaid in non-expansion states and extend postpartum coverage for women enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).</h3>We support providing the enhanced federal matching rate to any state, regardless of when it expands. This would give newly expanded states access to three years of 100% federal match, which would then be reduced over the next several years to the permanent 90% federal match. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2) provides an incentive for states that have not already done so to expand Medicaid by temporarily increasing the state’s Federal Medical Assistance Percentage for their base program by 5 percentage points for two years. Access to health care throughout a woman’s reproductive years, especially before pregnancy, is important to detect any underlying conditions that may place women at higher risk of pregnancy-related complications.1 Recent studies have shown that Medicaid expansion could be contributing to lower maternal mortality rates in those states that extended their programs under the Affordable Care Act and could also contribute to decreasing racial disparities in maternal mortality.2 Studies also have found that Medicaid expansion led to a decline in infant mortality, with greater declines seen among African American infants.3The AHA supported the provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 that permanently gave states the option to provide 12 months of postpartum coverage to women rather than previous law which provided a federal match for only 60 days postpartum. To date, 47 states and the District of Columbia have implemented the coverage extension. States choosing this option must provide the full Medicaid benefit for pregnant and postpartum individuals during the 12-month postpartum period. We support making the requirement mandatory for states, rather than an option, which would provide reliable coverage for new mothers, who may remain at high-risk for maternal morbidity and mortality and allow providers to better coordinate services for them across the continuum of care. In addition to complications such as cardiovascular disease and hypertension, in the postpartum period, women may experience behavioral health issues or have a substance use disorder. Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common complications after pregnancy, affecting one in seven new mothers, or 400,000 births per year, according to the American Psychological Association.4 Giving clinicians the ability to treat women for PPD during the postpartum period by ensuring coverage is an important tool for improving women’s health during this critical time.<h3>Prevent Medicaid and CHIP coverage lapses during the redetermination process.</h3>The unwinding of the COVID-19 public health emergency required states to resume normal eligibility redeterminations operations for the first time in nearly three years. States determined eligibility for more than 90 million individuals over the course of the last year. As a result of this process, some individuals – including postpartum women – are at high risk of losing coverage either because they are no longer eligible for Medicaid and have limited options for other sources of coverage or lose Medicaid coverage for procedural reasons such as failure to complete the critical redetermination process due to lack of awareness.<h3>Continue to support subsidies for more lower- and middle-income individuals and families.</h3>Many individuals and families who do not have access to employer-sponsored coverage earn too much to qualify for either Medicaid or Marketplace subsidies and yet struggle to afford coverage. The AHA supported provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169) that provided for a three-year extension of enhanced subsidies provided for in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021; this reduced the cost of Marketplace coverage for all subsidy-eligible individuals and families by increasing the dollar value of the premium tax credit subsidies. These changes are in effect through 2025.<h3>Require state Medicaid programs to cover telemedicine for maternal care.</h3>Telehealth became essential during the COVID-19 pandemic for use in all patient care, including maternal care, to provide regular support throughout the perinatal period and keep patients safe during their pregnancy, as well to allow for consultations with specialists and access to care for urban and rural areas that do not have obstetric providers5. &nbsp;A study in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) examined work done by 13 state MMRCs to identify contributing factors and strategies to prevent future pregnancy-related deaths, which included addressing personnel issues at hospitals by providing telemedicine for facilities with no obstetric provider on-site.6 In addition, the use of remote patient monitoring, such as with blood pressure cuffs and weekly glucose review, both lowered pregnancy-related stress and improved patient satisfaction with their treatment. While the use of telemedicine for obstetric services increased during the pandemic, not all states may be requiring Medicaid to reimburse for these services.7<h3>Improve Medicaid access, provider payment and network adequacy.</h3>The AHA supports CMS regulatory efforts to address the access and care challenges faced by Medicaid and CHIP.8 Such efforts include regulatory changes that promote greater transparency and accountability in Medicaid fee for service programs with a particular focus on mitigating payment-related barriers that impact providers’ participation in the program. CMS issued new policies regarding Medicaid managed care plans that aim to address these payment barriers, as well as to better monitor enrollee access to care. The AHA appreciates efforts to review provider payments for adequacy, as well as proposals to adopt wait time standards and secret shopper surveys to ensure managed care plans maintain adequate networks. The AHA understands that implementing these new requirements will be a challenge for state Medicaid agencies, especially considering the efforts undertaken in support of the Medicaid unwinding process, and stands ready to work with member hospitals, Medicaid officials and other stakeholders to provide additional support as needed. Many of these regulatory improvements focus on services that are vital for the maternal population, including mental health, primary care and obstetrics and gynecology services.9<h3>Focus on the challenges contributing to rural obstetric (OB) unit closures.</h3>There has been a significant decline in rural hospitals offering obstetric services. Approximately 267 rural hospitals ceased providing obstetric services between 2011 and 2021, representing nearly 25% of America’s rural hospital obstetric units.10 As of 2023, approximately 45% of rural hospitals currently offer labor and delivery services; in 10 states, less than 33% of rural hospitals provide these services.11 This trend has led to the expansion of “maternity care deserts” in rural America, affecting millions of women of childbearing age and potentially resulting in preterm births and poor maternal and infant outcomes.This year, the AHA worked with members to develop strategies to address the rural OB unit closures. These recommendations include:<ul><li>Increasing federal funding for rural OB services in the Medicaid program, including through higher base payment rates, supplemental payments and add-on payments for low-volume providers, along with an increased federal match rate to encourage uptake;</li><li>Exploring tort reform for maternal care offered in rural areas, which could include caps on non-economic damages, liability safe harbors for evidence-based medicine practices and shortening the statute of limitations;</li><li>Pursuing legislative antitrust waivers to allow hospitals to discuss ways they can develop innovative solutions to maternity deserts, such as through pooling resources to establish shared maternity units, establishing prenatal hotels or mobile clinics that serve multiple rural communities along with sharing clinical staff; and</li><li>Addressing workforce challenges by urging CMS to encourage state Medicaid agencies to develop Medicaid GME programs that support rural hospitals offering maternity care.</li></ul><h3>Funding for simulation training.</h3>Providing ongoing education for doctors, nurses and other members of the labor and delivery team regarding how to handle high-risk births will better prepare them to address maternal morbidity and mortality. The CDC’s MMWR study suggested health care facilities could improve outcomes by implementing emergency obstetric simulation training for emergency department and obstetric staff members.12<h3>Extend supplemental nutrition services for women.</h3>Giving states the option to offer Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits to women for two years postpartum, an increase from the current standard of up to one year, would provide access to nutritious food during a critical time in a mother’s and child’s life. Studies have found WIC to be effective in improving birth outcomes and reducing health care costs, improving diet and diet-related outcomes, increasing childhood immunization rates and improving cognitive development, among other findings.13<h3>Funding for the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) program and state-based perinatal quality collaboratives.</h3>We believe that promoting the widespread adoption of the AIM maternal safety bundles at the state level would help improve maternal health by providing standardized approaches for hospitals offering delivery services. Also, perinatal quality collaboratives assist states and territories in improving outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women and their infants. A study in California examined the impact of a quality-improvement collaborative on racial disparities in severe maternal morbidity due to hemorrhage and found that it was able to reduce rates of this severe maternal morbidity in all races and reduce the gap between African American and white women.14<h3>Funding for implicit bias training.</h3>Entities including teaching hospitals, health systems and medical schools could qualify for grants for ongoing training of health care professionals regarding implicit bias and cultural competence. This training would teach providers how to recognize and interrupt the stereotypes and assumptions that influence their actions and has the potential to improve the quality of care and improve outcomes for mothers and babies in all communities.<h2>Additional Suggestions</h2><h3>Use of non-physician clinicians, and continuity and coordination of care.</h3>&gt;Our members would like to see an increased use of midwives and nurse practitioners (NPs) and other clinicians in all aspects of maternal care (prenatal/surgical assist in obstetrics/postpartum). Hospitals identified this as an area of dire need. In particular, NPs’ strong medical backgrounds make these clinicians very suitable to provide routine care and address other issues, such as expediting subspecialty consults, which can be difficult to achieve in a timely manner. In Medicaid, the use of midwives for low-risk pregnancies can improve outcomes for both maternal and infant health and lower costs for the program.15 And while the AHA supports the increased use of midwifery practices, for those operating at freestanding birthing centers, it is essential for providers that are not otherwise affiliated with their local hospitals to have transfer agreements in place should emergencies arise during deliveries.Studies have shown that using doulas can improve outcomes for mothers and infants, especially for women at risk of adverse outcomes, including Black and Hispanic women. Doulas have demonstrated a reduction in labor time, reduction of mother’s anxiety, improvements in mother-baby bonding post-birth and improved breastfeeding success.16 However, challenges remain with respect to their accreditation, given the absence of federal regulation to determine competencies, as well as funding. As of 2024, 43 states and the District of Colombia have taken steps to provide Medicaid coverage for doula reimbursements.17 However, for these states that allow Medicaid reimbursement for these services, the reimbursement rates are usually set below costs, making the work not financially viable for the practitioners unless it is supported by a health care system or private grant programs.The use of telehealth with non-physician providers also should be considered.<h3>Coverage and standards of care to improve maternal health.</h3>Maternal morbidity issues, such as maternal cardiac disease and mental health, are not resolved at delivery or immediately postpartum. Frequently, providers want to offer home care visits to postpartum patients such as those who are discharged with preeclampsia. However, many insurance plans do not cover home visits, which creates barriers for patients’ access to important care. In addition, changes in Medicaid payment could be used to improve postpartum care and reduce racial and ethnic disparities by bringing together clinicians, social workers and managed care to reduce hospital readmissions and postpartum depression.18<h3>Addressing disparities and disparate outcomes.</h3>Addressing disparities in outcomes remains an important area of improvement, even for successful quality initiatives, such as the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative. Work continues at AIM to review access to care and implicit bias as potential causes of disparities, in addition to encouraging the use of its Reduction of Peripartum Racial/Ethnic Disparities Patient Safety Bundle, which provides guidance for organizations and clinicians regarding how to reduce disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality. Our members support investments in accessible technology, such as applications to help monitor blood pressure, glucose levels, depression and other conditions remotely, in order to reach women who are most at risk for negative outcomes. We believe the recommendations made previously will address high rates of adverse outcomes for all women, including those living in rural and underserved areas.<h3>Data collection and effective evaluation to improve outcomes and quality.</h3>The issue of data and measure standardization was raised by our members. For example, states, municipalities and hospitals use different terminology for determining maternal morbidities, such as hemorrhage. We encourage CMS to use its existing mechanisms, such as the Core Measure Quality Collaborative, to promote standardized definitions and the development of more meaningful quality measures. The implementation of MMRCs in all states also should help standardize data collection and the dissemination of strategies to reduce pregnancy-related morbidities and eliminate mortality.<h3>Social services aimed at supporting mother and child well-being.</h3>Providers want to offer their patients as much support as possible across the continuum of care. But, even when they are mandated to screen for maternal health conditions, such as depression, there are not enough mental health providers to whom to make the referral. In addition, patients’ lack of social supports, such as those related to childcare, transportation or the inability to take time away from their jobs, may prevent them from attending prenatal and postpartum appointments, thereby disrupting continuity of care during pregnancy. Members have had success with group prenatal care, such as the <a href="https://www.centeringhealthcare.org/what-we-do/centering-pregnancy">CenteringPregnancy</a> model, and suggested federal initiatives that support these efforts – and include transportation to and from the meetings as well as childcare – would be beneficial for their patients.<hr>1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6090644/&nbsp;2 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1049386720300050&nbsp;3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5844390/&nbsp;4 https://www.apa.org/topics/women-girls/postpartum-depression&nbsp;5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9639859/#bib5 &nbsp;6 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6818e1.htm?s_cid=mm6818e1_w&amp;T3_down &nbsp;7 https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/eb9e147935a2663441a9488e36eea6cb/medicaid-telehealth-brief.pdf &nbsp;8 /lettercomment/2022-04-15-letter-cms-response-rfi-access-coverage-and-care-medicaid-chip &nbsp;9 /lettercomment/2023-06-28-aha-letter-cms-proposed-medicaid-and-chip-access-finance-and-quality-policies &nbsp;10 https://www.chartis.com/sites/default/files/documents/rural_americas_ob_deserts_widen_in_fallout_from_pandemic_12-19-23.pdf &nbsp;11 https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/rural-hospitals-maternity-care-crisis.html&nbsp;12 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6818e1.htm?s_cid=mm6818e1_w&amp;T3_down &nbsp;13 https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/about-wic-how-wic-helps &nbsp;14 https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(20)30034-X/fulltext&nbsp;15 https://www.macpac.gov/publication/access-to-maternity-providers-midwives-and-birth-centers/&nbsp;16 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3647727/ &nbsp;17 https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2024/04/11/state-momentum-on-medicaid-doula-coverage-rate-increases/18 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5380444/&nbsp;&nbsp; Mon, 28 Aug 2023 01:26:35 -0500 Advocacy Post-Acute Care Advocacy Alliance Update - August 10, 2023 AHA EVENT&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;POST-ACUTE CARE&nbsp;ADVOCACY CALLS Next call scheduled for Sept. 19 Join us on Sept. 19 at 2 p.m. ET for our next monthly post-acute care advocacy&nbsp;call, featuring updates on regulatory news and the latest policy and legislative information in the post-acute care area. Our August call&nbsp;has been canceled.&nbsp; As always, we welcome your ideas and suggestions for future calls.&nbsp; Click the date&nbsp;to register for <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO_Ojv279vn55u1XtbbYjWjQ8iyqUkP8z_BGrPaUl07v6mCMY7SljS4_fK3E6IijjAQg%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599155061%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=BgiMzCa5vShkVMJP7i%2FFdOltAobUHOAgoCX%2FLIm73x8%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO_Ojv279vn55u1XtbbYjWjQ8iyqUkP8z_BGrPaUl07v6mCMY7SljS4_fK3E6IijjAQg=" shash="B8daLNsGNSw4Z5N365EfueulJTAG0ISvDpK7LOjj57botAmjru8saGJv4P4k41JN2o6k2HVqQ6/An8hzleHU0rjxzn5TT1D/2Pp4mNReBBEnWtIiFWxHJN/Xz8TqYywt/Dyoi2FjQKdh299H0wc/h1YXF889g+k9FFO7Q+vM4cs=" target="_blank">Sept. 19</a>&nbsp;and/or the next one scheduled for <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOyamr5ArYvSXHSfO9jZHTNuxAzwX3e61DJf-MgkhZAa6gHVvlgF1FeJio9r1Z_XrbAI%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599155061%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=XZ7tfCzOTrCqBafqLmayBDZvyqqud%2BtQJN9hFUfN328%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOyamr5ArYvSXHSfO9jZHTNuxAzwX3e61DJf-MgkhZAa6gHVvlgF1FeJio9r1Z_XrbAI=" shash="JkdMPdo0CUhPaMaO4ZplW4DRuBKoClVIJ9PXfffPkIQPQ07yGHudSBfgpjTDQ3ZG55O+N4cxTXnPyZoRhhNovPGhAfNYvz1QM7BHZ65nSbuvuG8TLG+xRIKKkX82RQHXJLg+mto3jQXMKh8Dt+/Bxx0PkWMnH0hBCAU0AAv+rgI=" target="_blank">Oct. 17</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp; Visit <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOsMQHR5g1RLIkFlf2RnmkOo8QReiLAbNf7METH8tmW8GZ8DXH9egnZZLhS9llN-qUF8%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599155061%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=JIZ0XGkvSP6OaNkmIUUYWlU2mDEG9BSWjgi7yzu26mo%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOsMQHR5g1RLIkFlf2RnmkOo8QReiLAbNf7METH8tmW8GZ8DXH9egnZZLhS9llN-qUF8=" shash="zZlhTr22VgwqAhUGE8GRetsLWOFHr91V0mlpYxDobk8rdPFnoo+6tlojTY84ED6Fj9gZ05L5bRi+J6Zu1oUiWp+kMeyHD05cg5+DHuxRRakVaKABaztAUFzwuLJg8qYmbQvGAhy+/rT/YY9ZzpXUGkhWmQmp9ciCZOyZSX5Dmd0=" target="_blank">AHA's Post-acute Care website</a> for a full calendar of future calls, as well as recaps, audio and materials from previous calls.&nbsp; <hr /> ADVOCACY AHA Special&nbsp;Bulletin summarizes the LTCH final rule for FY 2024 AHA members Aug. 2 received a <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOlvPzDiOgGY0k2ALfKsx0EjZBIGSablCsd32c3DW_jhS6TIL4o7HhMGgPdEkagYLaD0%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599155061%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=vLlFanGDwl1tp%2F0jEtUS5Ic1sl19KTAyFAbieRgpAno%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOlvPzDiOgGY0k2ALfKsx0EjZBIGSablCsd32c3DW_jhS6TIL4o7HhMGgPdEkagYLaD0=" shash="YJ7Z0mQ31ERkfTmMJpklFDaAl/6gNxErKT4eh5IbOKJlQnP1LAEE/Fh9dmYFadl30tmeax9aoAzMy37W41Yph0oc936dEvx8QW5bhxMjwKFlvAKmZJE97kw6D239sBY1BmuJOum12LGMNIKAShYj98WRhZlgQfCfPNzlVXz0eUg=" target="_blank">Special Bulletin</a> summarizing key provisions in the long-term care hospital prospective payment system final payment rule for fiscal year 2024, released Aug. 1. Read the AHA Special Bulletin on the <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO9jdo4knFtdT7S1nJjnL0qLjLE5tSqf2yCDIdYwPr9k8qAS-IX7xHiYrItCXI7TugqA%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599155061%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=SDe3cY9svcfRC4CmS%2Be54%2Fdr73IfhNekY7Fl4YhJnMM%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO9jdo4knFtdT7S1nJjnL0qLjLE5tSqf2yCDIdYwPr9k8qAS-IX7xHiYrItCXI7TugqA=" shash="kI+ZAPR6bVaxcCBbwQg91m/7Rihr2QhtXpsBtF27uo5r4d0DMRGnIIqrwXQFEduWrZfN4w12qyV/0FpwLSrjPdP5/8orGXrxtq7vpzNec4a7g6/SF06md4pBhiLM4jwEA8Ut+8IS5/i3ZHoB/UmYGF7cP1B7wY3VkLCLszrtWFA=">LTCH PPS</a> provisions for details and key takeaways from the rule. In a <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO-TVbSFXcLaoYlKbcOcvkdO5lBBA1IgcinlHcpJ5bx9UBIdjYFMpfr2EmWYc0YhDME4%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599311261%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=RQLk1UiEtaDqqAsoZecwU8%2B7CzY5tdUI0X%2FQd7oajF8%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO-TVbSFXcLaoYlKbcOcvkdO5lBBA1IgcinlHcpJ5bx9UBIdjYFMpfr2EmWYc0YhDME4=" shash="rmMgyFjl2BjyixCXlas3RVAasuT1f/+LmfleUZIBpc7J60DTjS7H0HfgltN7SCnEe7XOSX/mK48mDk8QHJbrSL6wmGzKQZeb3Gb4eWf78Kko0DTgN3GRuCVna2kyvuTyxNvO0Uv+FbnfJy6RvbtQbUOUNuFyIKG9qByH+Axvow0=">statement</a> shared with the media, Ashley Thompson, AHA’s senior vice president for public policy analysis and development, said, “The AHA is deeply concerned with CMS’ woefully inadequate inpatient and long-term care hospital payment updates. … In addition, while we appreciate CMS adopting some of our suggested improvements in its long-term care hospital outlier threshold calculation, it still finalized a figure that is 55% higher than it is currently. Most long-term care hospitals cannot afford to absorb such financial losses. We are concerned it will harm their ability to care for the sickest patients – a population they provide care for already at a considerable financial loss.” <hr /> ADVOCACY AHA Regulatory Advisory details home health proposed rule for CY 2024 AHA July 26 released a <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOlre0M2bbwr-38uYyaWKNfglkZjRT_TrJYJ_jARIF40CzTVgbzVokqzQnJ-8uXvFXuk%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599311261%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=HgvJNnBfKfxa5OJX6WVfZQNCsSJxPmtcTH8Db4B76n8%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOlre0M2bbwr-38uYyaWKNfglkZjRT_TrJYJ_jARIF40CzTVgbzVokqzQnJ-8uXvFXuk=" shash="n8qS/ZI7+CzIalSb/7XBGVbwToV8tS4hm+QWB0cI6/EqwwYl8CQVYXOBhFo3SoI3p9cuC+RNbG0B5xZWSqRl77nITevuQlbxHI4IoHMlT7OsE86zvemqcNoqvBj1qZMAemkYZiOqUUUk1IsBkqvqEoYOL52M4GX6i7jst7XVZNc=" target="_blank">Regulatory Advisory</a> detailing key provisions in the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services calendar year 2024 proposed rule for the home health prospective payment system, which would reduce net home health payments by an estimated $375 million, or -2.2%, in calendar year 2024, relative to the year prior. Comments on the proposed rule are due Aug. 29. Read the AHA Regulatory Advisory for more on the proposed rule and AHA’s take. &nbsp; <hr /> ADVOCACY AHA issues summary of FY 2024 skilled nursing facility final rule AHA Aug. 1 released a summary of key provisions in the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services’ fiscal year 2024 final rule for the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system. Released July 31, the <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOqhuUVQi2Au6b4PjpHmRY_HLk8heQ-pklJPoIPcd8R-y3vlZi91KPDyVWKsai62_ni0%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599311261%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=0OtBDWJaJBUr%2BQgxJvZIKfLfLULWUybjPPG1kps7GQk%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOqhuUVQi2Au6b4PjpHmRY_HLk8heQ-pklJPoIPcd8R-y3vlZi91KPDyVWKsai62_ni0=" shash="g3ourCJCJ4dfmaxInTJQTPhagxII8r4hP5KQhhwgzMtyOEiVTM5FcJezOTATfKx8ANjjiY1Z/nu8MBNYh5t96Mb1/4ljiCnD1r/5icw54HlVh7SaTJhG4ihEAF4094Vf1U/miIA5pexI0mvjeiE3JzPTRw6f6xgDeg0FGDSZgtQ=">final rule</a> updates SNF rates, finalizes a budget neutrality offset related to the Patient Driven Payment Model case-mix system implemented in FY 2020 and finalizes nearly all proposals for the SNF Quality Reporting Program. Read the AHA <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOnXPSUBG97Q4EaAkH8_QEhI2q0yrisXxlHcvcAHev_LRWuL5V3SoKMBotckc4jA8TnE%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599311261%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Iu6djUhnDda6tlZh9dmLYqzqL8wrza1LFYTwY1%2FX3gs%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOnXPSUBG97Q4EaAkH8_QEhI2q0yrisXxlHcvcAHev_LRWuL5V3SoKMBotckc4jA8TnE=" shash="lcLjafW5QqEsbDLvMniIzkq3DekP44t22D93eySW1idodWdI/9EKNzJvEh/Sy4xp4ZuqOb8HuAn2pBqI3IH7UOFWbt9GocP+hoqOYQac50/r1UAv49sVthI053e76AvBJJ3JlphykVF/NfK90Xu8JtDSL9hylf+KCpNi/WkSR7g=">Special Bulletin</a> for key highlights from the rule and AHA’s take.&nbsp; &nbsp; <hr /> ADVOCACY AHA Special Bulletin summarizes FY 2024 final rule for inpatient rehabilitation facilities AHA July 28 released a <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOhjQaVvB9ZYv3V0miU9dY4cPbN8eW1Vza7tuljcZet4b70ObsIp_2Wwb7ymLuvcRao8%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599311261%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=J8LDQs%2B6cBZI2ad1ppF%2BtAbLF%2BrsVtxNMVuvPchz34Y%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzOhjQaVvB9ZYv3V0miU9dY4cPbN8eW1Vza7tuljcZet4b70ObsIp_2Wwb7ymLuvcRao8=" shash="M80so6MfjkheYn+spiK5aczYE2JhSQ9qRHW8dP/o5KSx2oTl/orsx8D75oiAViiTjU4tFba8Chj2qIp0Y9l6uklxgMy05Mu+lsSHj6frt/SGBmej4M2YMHhzo2qzx1Cvjr+wf3NxNc96MiyZZvtTDCHJ/ElEMK/vzgVnG4AtX3k=" target="_blank">Special Bulletin</a> summarizing key provisions in the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services fiscal year 2024 final rule for inpatient rehabilitation facilities, which increases payments by an estimated 4%, or $355 million, relative to 2023. Read the AHA Special Bulletin for more on the&nbsp;final rule and AHA’s take. &nbsp; <hr /> ADVOCACY Workforce Perspectives AHA highlights Thomas, a physical therapist at UnityPoint Health Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Grinnell, Iowa, as he shares his passion and commitment for the health care profession. The video is part of AHA’s #WeAreHealthCare campaign to tell hospitals’ stories.&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO6m05TPlZTWIhnIgwt5WAhmlo3BfC47ss6Qy3ptV1IBUHlTbA8biCBmp7xgPUXDaLwo%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599311261%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=USZgG4jUD%2FrgkmKQdSLsyOr4oVyhyUBm78v4EeZcJi4%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO6m05TPlZTWIhnIgwt5WAhmlo3BfC47ss6Qy3ptV1IBUHlTbA8biCBmp7xgPUXDaLwo=" shash="w7CTYIa/t+LbBzTFK2JPNz/u16TJIKsB+sfzwtQ8xeoAowe44UstOWXLnwNA7SSafyYChY/CLCQgn+hl4PnlOw71xH+p8db15GrOHgB2Awv1WkOsx6Gw5qiRh05j0zp/jQPeuxyPF739Dij73AgyHZONwOsnKN5zZgGeAAz4hlk=">WATCH NOW</a> &nbsp; <hr /> OPPORTUNITIES Post-acute Care Spotlight The AHA invites members to share your stories, blogs, podcasts, etc. that feature the work your organization and/or team members are doing in the post-acute care space. We encourage you to help us identify collaborations and equitable solutions that address access to quality post-acute care and improved health outcomes that can be shared with our members.&nbsp;&nbsp; Submit your stories&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO1DwFpkwhgh_71W2qDmiOSbb4fHQVffkRZvY_sOv6oOOtjWkFrRlzqxMoOemswTnLLU%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cf6b2a7c8a4974196a59108db99911264%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638272620599311261%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=NZK8bPFz58mwqN%2FhkGiOlhuPO%2FWG%2FgDfdvs60FV9y44%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGNfhPzO1DwFpkwhgh_71W2qDmiOSbb4fHQVffkRZvY_sOv6oOOtjWkFrRlzqxMoOemswTnLLU=" shash="wPQ9KURH7zF7Mob3sKe3WZxz1+PfstmkyxeYckWA4uPOc8b7AhWE6qUtntTq0l0jWFU/bhZcbFS1f849DPWegW7CPdCuj2lBjPBU+7iOVWLrI46f1uqiL5uMc33QtgUnRR5C3VUbAqYBwOUppFhWWXk6wxqpuHB5t0ai284IJOg=">here</a>. &nbsp; <hr /> To access past Post-acute Care Updates, click <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUxCNOh_tjJjPHNYYMJV6_aPJtXRRMSYUg9peg8DvIbzYa8izk6Xjb9OGhe3AHJQNKO8%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=SsXoBlsgCTVsEs43GAQWQClB%2BKgnp%2FWJBkE0BICYTlM%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUxCNOh_tjJjPHNYYMJV6_aPJtXRRMSYUg9peg8DvIbzYa8izk6Xjb9OGhe3AHJQNKO8=" shash="mpx3gKyZoOtoW8PGkwzNd0yd9sdAOgoSpH/TTMu3LabFtX/ElAXnwPYUF4hpr5G2tZ4m/9JVTnnr7+c7O1oxE/chxWirDkrL/bM3Sg4zJni/kv6n6bm7b9ABdCUv05ML24NdZjRc7oL6i4kiwa6rF1s4E2L5v8SxXyEcTN5c1Mg=" target="_blank">here</a>, and check out the latest resources at the AHA Post-acute Care&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU7KDsp0ZNvfVdmpHT2aO4Kt4GgnuTmJUVz40STXJ4vnbmVEjnI-MxWPvWVL-CfERqXQ%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=suSeqt2%2F6D%2BJE3%2FGciBSyubVVLQiNc4jJt033qBamng%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU7KDsp0ZNvfVdmpHT2aO4Kt4GgnuTmJUVz40STXJ4vnbmVEjnI-MxWPvWVL-CfERqXQ=" shash="dlfAgAS1hBbzaekMJpu/Z0t4k03xItRXGX3UKMkz8NgZbG8DZvwMJ8cA5Titsv/QKMvi6+YKRd27AAxmqLqjNJ1ga5dMPw6G6G6o0qPMbZiMd0jELJ9lQvvJ6cw5Eqgow47oq2WYr6P2l611XuuS6p07wT0oN9kGnvUVHFPLKo0=" target="_blank">website</a>. Shawna L. Brown Director, Post-acute Care &amp; Federal Members Services Field Engagement Thu, 10 Aug 2023 14:50:21 -0500 Advocacy Post-Acute Care Advocacy Alliance Update - July 14, 2023 AHA EVENT&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;POST-ACUTE CARE&nbsp;ADVOCACY CALLS Aug. 22 post-acute care advocacy call cancelled, next call scheduled for Sept. 19 Join us on Sept. 19 at 2 p.m. ET for our next monthly post-acute care advocacy&nbsp;call, featuring updates on regulatory news and the latest policy and legislative information in the post-acute care area. Our August call&nbsp;has been canceled.&nbsp; As always, we welcome your ideas and suggestions for future calls.&nbsp; Click the date&nbsp;to register for <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU8JBpnpVMiMs5pnW8DuXhK48--z8dqhsaZPyTK82TgyG4EOw5T0DRTIHtiwgfr7qZVk%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445707469%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=AkKhMOQ4%2FALAy9z5Kf3JXTdu%2FPxDduFSqVfEt2ZyVk0%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU8JBpnpVMiMs5pnW8DuXhK48--z8dqhsaZPyTK82TgyG4EOw5T0DRTIHtiwgfr7qZVk=" shash="c0Om3TcFpLviRmQXeOZ83OmaBZLV9RBa4NFQC/EyjhzeoRpN5Zr8jwLTw+a0FemHSkD9kV3q+71/TQpynTAPNmJBUxICqS8OIelwRx4t5ZJfMtWmTf4oUFSc2m1/9qfGdoizMclB4T8Ds4crb4Afkiz75mMjKn65D3OfVtAER60=" target="_blank">Sept. 19</a>&nbsp;and/or the next one scheduled for <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU-IMsR2Z6nRfX51PF97UhBicFe4-ijmSpXswMZSElCIMGeCKkLy2aNPx3RKjXsB-6oA%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=qDV61JqBmBymTgqFMx2X2E10iPJpeJ30RaAM%2FblO%2Fv0%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU-IMsR2Z6nRfX51PF97UhBicFe4-ijmSpXswMZSElCIMGeCKkLy2aNPx3RKjXsB-6oA=" shash="auaDstCbgHyY385qyC37PNOpMwZUAajo6qNW80Nm4W9gkxNAUgndhTwkzfR9IUVhKVC7YUy/OaSnPmq7ogUribMSBxnycgu5IBm+d2zfAhzAAWplNPqnNq2Vzyzx1ZSKI6iT9pwFI86XukFfFFNp7BuE6HrkAAY5xZpq7qdRWoE=" target="_blank">Oct. 17</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp; Visit <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU6LVcZvVJtLZ7jCznzLkNAKCt9N9YddRfqeQrRsenBzXhM4n7ZsKH35fkSqM4MF9alU%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=NFy7hnKCqmLsbmJQ57Cii%2Fj5OI7FkvWmaq%2FXNEVEmNU%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU6LVcZvVJtLZ7jCznzLkNAKCt9N9YddRfqeQrRsenBzXhM4n7ZsKH35fkSqM4MF9alU=" shash="M+tvzEZmTwhDde+EZuwmzQJHprx4TbbPjWQ+5VjY2yJ36gsSQM0KvRE9We7yXMRKHPVojdcasPCNDkAwi0uvxIaQYALxNwnxZIyhLLaRi5E5QkFqNdRkmfb+1NLnS19gkVKiWF778PtkkKaca9W3PEWi0uCavkHqrO5IxLL/K3E=" target="_blank">AHA's Post-acute Care website</a> for a full calendar of future calls, as well as recaps, audio and materials from previous calls.&nbsp; <hr /> ADVOCACY AHA provides analysis of CY 2024 home health PPS proposed rule A July 5 <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUyitVUeoF2LLyjvg2SQw16Qrd_U-KswaMtbs5Prtde0GdeaXfUCSxyjXsFdtMbyGRlE%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=LMzwbxU3Zmz1oDa1iYVsa98muvbPINY68bFLx%2BWfUJw%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUyitVUeoF2LLyjvg2SQw16Qrd_U-KswaMtbs5Prtde0GdeaXfUCSxyjXsFdtMbyGRlE=" shash="tscMmEdkV3g4NIlb35eeGJigomVFU6XJXS9t+OeptoIoGaYVxnfb7Ymgt1tMCr7OG/Ie6XC7nwYx+fQdgnFsDjYcKbxEO7R4M4HbioYo+uwEvOCbjxw0qBKPWzIv5pUSne6J3OCiLS+bUggpi2Y3UQWaAiT0k7kRc+ooD7HZ/mA=">AHA Special Bulletin</a> provides analysis of the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services’ calendar year 2024 proposed rule for the home health prospective payment system, which the agency released June 30. AHA has previously expressed concern about the scale of the proposed PDGM behavioral offsets, and is disappointed CMS continues to seek their implementation. CMS will accept comments on the home health proposed rule through Aug. 29. AHA will issue an additional, more detailed advisory at a future date. <hr /> Resources Department of Veterans Affairs offering free trainings to help prevent veteran suicide As part of VA's National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide, VHA is offering two free online self-paced trainings for providers. These trainings empower providers to have effective discussions with Veterans at risk for suicide about secure storage of firearms and other lethal means. The more providers who are equipped to have these crucial conversations about securing lethal means, the more Veterans’ lives we can save. VHA has two options for free self-paced <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUz6JQ1Kn_6TUFkPyIflip6la9OrGE3dLeGpOtvcc5W4wEKB80c3tzCvi8zJ9sGYniEc%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=UZZ6STrwr6GugAWL7YU4u2U2k%2B2INQ2y1ApOO3qg7TE%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUz6JQ1Kn_6TUFkPyIflip6la9OrGE3dLeGpOtvcc5W4wEKB80c3tzCvi8zJ9sGYniEc=" shash="T1AiSDZ0yKlY120HpduBw/JLVR1mDsH3HgRsEyJ3UUWLtj90AdlsmJWeyzAZg8N+ginJJihiJTxMeordR/HnvIBtiZ48yFpSP0Npsd7MDtAzKT4FVr8atK1HgzrzI9wtOLQiE8BD8ioKz2iUMmR0M0CbMNcyOJ5A85hi06AwbrM=" target="_blank">LMS trainings</a>:&nbsp; <ul> <li><a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU9l2-ELmHMzcZC7AF1RvNB7rTDI9Yy_RdS1zNMe93XMZxzfSeaU9b7KX0dViC0zMScU%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=oncCQf5Rfv3kHJ%2BGatE%2BNZQ5l83mxUtXxAumZRZXRKw%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU9l2-ELmHMzcZC7AF1RvNB7rTDI9Yy_RdS1zNMe93XMZxzfSeaU9b7KX0dViC0zMScU=" shash="JGyGMkcKzZEqkQmhGFJHR1duUL2N4NMU4OH5OAkmSKfsivn/u8CKo7liEcrrMVE0cHFjasQiKNodKPzjYmYG0fyJlRh+neHnB+rWEYhyo0jHuFGVKf3iDbWRjXUXgpcXh9VJZEmUOz6iEQ6oZX/Nnm0oXZmLmo5zM32PozLJuSc=">One-hour training</a> accessible on VHA’s training platform, which provides one hour of free CEUs</li> </ul> <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU-MPhFZHHWbLxprBXQ6_LhQL8ihKWnrIHFQlrP5AeEtsWmABlUgFhf9K-zKs0fNHvx4%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=WPGunitButiAtR7Tg01qKUnqHYbcZd2AEQkZhvaacNI%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU-MPhFZHHWbLxprBXQ6_LhQL8ihKWnrIHFQlrP5AeEtsWmABlUgFhf9K-zKs0fNHvx4=" shash="nhTUKeGEQ7YC66vD0XoqXU4C5hCS81XtAF44UBzEHmEmPTu27iqsDiS6oqDdGMp5jZQw5aZTfmzU7W8QbGkYe1Njo3PhBlrp/vhqJ/h9SKIOImys4B3gNOJrizmYSmd8YzVIjm3gY5H3ZXtkuWrM8KsdKapi+KZ9rSsTKVeiqUg=">25-minute training</a> through PsychArmor, which will provide a certificate of completion (no CEUs available)&nbsp; <hr /> OPPORTUNITIES Call for Proposals: 2024 AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, Feb. 11-14, Orlando, Fla. The conference will gather more than 1,000 rural health leaders committed to advancing rural health and providing quality care for patients and communities. Featured top rural practitioners will share actionable strategies and resources aimed at improving access to care, leveraging unique workforce approaches, implementing digital technologies and prioritizing health equity. We will explore the most significant challenges facing rural health care providers and present innovative approaches to transform care delivery and business practices. We are now accepting speaking proposals for our 2024 conference. We are especially interested in presentations that feature rural hospital executives, clinical leaders, and trustees as presenters. Submission deadline is&nbsp;Thursday, July 27, 2023. <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU2FZDyG9vegD_pw32uSpy1rYPA_UYK9_Ib3js00wpy4zIX7h7XPA3SAXL-q21b7sN9k%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=hRsz6dYPwBAJTTJvNUnw3%2BGfuZfNsuj3WuMeK68A8Zk%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU2FZDyG9vegD_pw32uSpy1rYPA_UYK9_Ib3js00wpy4zIX7h7XPA3SAXL-q21b7sN9k=" shash="bD7YlTp830endzfVXItzTPdLMa4lyLrjU5XzzvsgNkQD/wPx8mM3Puxjo/s3SejKZ3b9ijmfhRe00skjligcqfLs2zeeke8dI4vEakaI22UMoKH0aI/05I2Bhi2SoAeBxcD1gMwS/yFEI6CiQj/dfjDvCVa2Ux9OuwTmUJ8Bn5s=" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a> <hr /> OPPORTUNITIES Post-acute Care Spotlight The AHA invites members to share your stories, blogs, podcasts, etc. that feature the work your organization and/or team members are doing in the post-acute care space. We encourage you to help us identify collaborations and equitable solutions that address access to quality post-acute care and improved health outcomes that can be shared with our members.&nbsp;&nbsp; Submit your stories&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU233yMO_99oJbfQy9x00yz-jsx9h7DU89f7mx4edkMmnTF5Kwmcr0OxYuyxM9fS62vk%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=2roGFj4nwhQjlxmDFU2o4N65FCG3wN3Gtvw10%2BcRWxU%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU233yMO_99oJbfQy9x00yz-jsx9h7DU89f7mx4edkMmnTF5Kwmcr0OxYuyxM9fS62vk=" shash="ZrfucIIktEpi93EHhjwX6u/LTxd7JvEJ2OZ4CZTTDZNDefZ3QoUOws9CKWbFAriJgxPIT6Hk1UJfrbOwKcnqJGOtN05qebzGV2LErEcj6noim9lGx3Up4+lQ6s8w69cMc/gl5oB/vOuZdjK0Hyo4qcdMVtxRKj3sW6CeQjs3SFY=">here</a>. <hr /> <img id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://sponsors.aha.org/rs/710-ZLL-651/images/2023%20leadership%20summit%20banner.jpg" /> AHA EVENT July 16-18&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;Seattle This summer in Seattle, a diverse community of senior hospital and health system leaders and clinicians, trustees, and next-generation health leaders will convene for three days of innovative insights, inspiring ideas and disruptive solutions. <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU_vpM2IcWXQe3U3Eu7NPXelU_BGJAXh_kL_X8f3zdVTySpC5r_CflWxq3eqz-zQziKc%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=0iQhyJ8tSOqpFOCIXWpJZZoktGleaE66B6Pvdvt7OIM%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU_vpM2IcWXQe3U3Eu7NPXelU_BGJAXh_kL_X8f3zdVTySpC5r_CflWxq3eqz-zQziKc=" shash="VextTFN1R2Z+EWJkTP/JYyGCJV6AdhAO6Ma9mWCBqp+oRjh8MDAD+3Z1pI+G1Io2/LyGTkoVYZZ+gvWSuyYYisRPNHgBhg/iIHJ3YNzG0dRD4R3n/MijH6q1YZOD0KTh3pe+P3pwiXzK3Zjzz9rf6O+gj6Lo43DswJOulcR5/Z0=" target="_blank">LEARN MORE</a> <hr /> To access past Post-acute Care Updates, click <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUxCNOh_tjJjPHNYYMJV6_aPJtXRRMSYUg9peg8DvIbzYa8izk6Xjb9OGhe3AHJQNKO8%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=SsXoBlsgCTVsEs43GAQWQClB%2BKgnp%2FWJBkE0BICYTlM%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnUxCNOh_tjJjPHNYYMJV6_aPJtXRRMSYUg9peg8DvIbzYa8izk6Xjb9OGhe3AHJQNKO8=" shash="mpx3gKyZoOtoW8PGkwzNd0yd9sdAOgoSpH/TTMu3LabFtX/ElAXnwPYUF4hpr5G2tZ4m/9JVTnnr7+c7O1oxE/chxWirDkrL/bM3Sg4zJni/kv6n6bm7b9ABdCUv05ML24NdZjRc7oL6i4kiwa6rF1s4E2L5v8SxXyEcTN5c1Mg=" target="_blank">here</a>, and check out the latest resources at the AHA Post-acute Care&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU7KDsp0ZNvfVdmpHT2aO4Kt4GgnuTmJUVz40STXJ4vnbmVEjnI-MxWPvWVL-CfERqXQ%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Cbb3ad00bc56c454141bc08db84837783%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638249472445863683%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=suSeqt2%2F6D%2BJE3%2FGciBSyubVVLQiNc4jJt033qBamng%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGM9BqnU7KDsp0ZNvfVdmpHT2aO4Kt4GgnuTmJUVz40STXJ4vnbmVEjnI-MxWPvWVL-CfERqXQ=" shash="dlfAgAS1hBbzaekMJpu/Z0t4k03xItRXGX3UKMkz8NgZbG8DZvwMJ8cA5Titsv/QKMvi6+YKRd27AAxmqLqjNJ1ga5dMPw6G6G6o0qPMbZiMd0jELJ9lQvvJ6cw5Eqgow47oq2WYr6P2l611XuuS6p07wT0oN9kGnvUVHFPLKo0=" target="_blank">website</a>. Shawna L. Brown Director, Post-acute Care &amp; Federal Members Services Field Engagement Fri, 14 Jul 2023 14:20:16 -0500 Advocacy Post-Acute Care Advocacy Alliance Special Bulletin - May 2, 2023 ADVOCACY AHA member calls to summarize proposed FY 2024 IRF, SNF, and LTCH rules Members are invited to join AHA Staff for a detailed overview and discussion on the FY 2024 proposed rules for the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) PPS, skilled nursing facility (SNF) PPS, and long-term care hospital (LTCH) PPS.&nbsp; In addition, please see the linked recent Special Bulletins for the <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1t8HNfimrgXe8pZsvz10t4EyhzzGX-LaXDDNlxvtpLZq95ZEYNG5pj-mC14yFmrll9I%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Ca0144b5f114a4b3be2a508db4b39364a%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638186481320300160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=VYSxtW57xrV5ol1oKoVHwmVN%2FnelqeuVTGJIbvc7FRU%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1t8HNfimrgXe8pZsvz10t4EyhzzGX-LaXDDNlxvtpLZq95ZEYNG5pj-mC14yFmrll9I=" shash="LnEDGWR8hTmqLmmpuNkiqr1NjqjKkeEtRF1p3Lrx/uXvagaxgnjf0YwYI0CO61klQQvpVjKP9LFj/OBqAy0f9Q6MIx2CnsIOXiFZIdnxMPt+h0KlaNFL8iKjxbgWmPoLgF+l0sL01FgzlZ+INyPFQRDANQnqorY/62hbn5QUSrE=" target="_blank">SNF</a> and <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1s-TG7GeF6GYSMDM84km1lWaMuKPE6qk4PTY2pGI3hid9hsql9-GZ4jjPZBEL39UN3I%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Ca0144b5f114a4b3be2a508db4b39364a%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638186481320300160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Rg9KDKNwZU%2F05GdpoM4yvKltB7%2BedRHQyMCTSCYvqqc%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1s-TG7GeF6GYSMDM84km1lWaMuKPE6qk4PTY2pGI3hid9hsql9-GZ4jjPZBEL39UN3I=" shash="Kl4WxHW607oCC89d1MU9UkVtZfUCBwW7QQ0IiOmh2sFMu1jlGVTljaSGNwyO9gq8+1dm9nyjiaFsyBTGTpJ8+QTYjgxpQxnDCbQmgLE/12JH9kc0aEzAyaB+l81/4/cd6ckGRrAuDdZGrUOKV6eRYm/zp2nz/e90p416HFe5bpA=" target="_blank">LTCH proposed rule</a> and the Regulatory Advisory for the <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1Ue7wLwwzVCG5r_nizKq-Siy5KyOqdTg-EEFOxDVtETNkVoeT3MmXTa1_O6wlLnGLeI%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Ca0144b5f114a4b3be2a508db4b39364a%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638186481320300160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=%2BnkfI4knWAS8IQiPguFhcIxtKrbqj42L5YuW9FOxXaM%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1Ue7wLwwzVCG5r_nizKq-Siy5KyOqdTg-EEFOxDVtETNkVoeT3MmXTa1_O6wlLnGLeI=" shash="Kx7E+ZoKtJp6qzhyFaMqj3Bs6lPUZb3hDJgypBCPltca9ldlChqd1kQYuCR2UPo+M2nDTwHOgh1LrL1tAyxtnTfREQRolISBlbdr+MD+GZbKT0ZwQ/ECoHrvOis/m2h6joUSI2zoP+mVYJV4aH3cHCrYAt2zen7oPS9G2mC0nFY=" target="_blank">IRF rule</a>. IRF and SNF proposed rule discussions – Monday, May 8, 1:00,ET, <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1QUSqqduEyTaNChP6Nal7Z4eHVn9_iFA7Ce_LlLS3xAdACb0srs_QBNl6G2JFJ6mvrM%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Ca0144b5f114a4b3be2a508db4b39364a%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638186481320300160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=0WLSilew7NbbLHa4Ci9Ft1P%2BSUFciEYUFQOz%2BwjdTiw%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1QUSqqduEyTaNChP6Nal7Z4eHVn9_iFA7Ce_LlLS3xAdACb0srs_QBNl6G2JFJ6mvrM=" shash="IK7YmWnIqcBYlLWXnxZDoyQp3QnHYNvmH8SQKXkrlMGe2YFgGmA1qc+FAwOteVka7mNdySW0HXjnm+emJ6Gd5F+0YTE1S8rZezzRzgH69b+sJT8BahekJmWPJA7b5dXhSkfDV0GBPT362SBAST3sza7q3RJVDkaLIJ7R7PvmbU0=">register here</a>. LTCH proposed rule discussion – Tuesday, May 9, 1:00,ET, <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1uLSlJW8It3QC33tlsv2Gm9ZUEujbyvDoCNtULx1RsFzJ7OTZF8Oqx_b3Tv0VWiAb9M%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Ca0144b5f114a4b3be2a508db4b39364a%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638186481320300160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=CTKntYvwx4yQ1TxY%2FaCv2c%2Btxp7sxMU%2Fsk%2BnNlfPLYg%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1uLSlJW8It3QC33tlsv2Gm9ZUEujbyvDoCNtULx1RsFzJ7OTZF8Oqx_b3Tv0VWiAb9M=" shash="Wrc8yAbrZ3vai5ojThzyBXZQsoqrtnLCSd/MMubp1AG13Su/q7kl2h9DpwbsBt5EGuAWpGvY9tAEiDKygw0kYdPrkxUGg3wR2GHNwAmMF26vJqc6qpjPy1+5tUte+4r4uOyA8G3MnKYEHEqlI8xs9UNaim+1nZOYEJDA2oTooyk=">register here</a>. <hr /> To access past Post-acute Care Updates, click <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1QN1ftUL4fIu9h016zgLt0LiL8frBTgREOss-XiOFIQ6ZBx9UOzV_d4HXbu4lL3Nl94%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Ca0144b5f114a4b3be2a508db4b39364a%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638186481320300160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=RgmI4hSPe8DxeXspGZfk0aKNQy9Ntj9fRAlSyO5G9xs%3D&amp;reserved=0" id="" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1QN1ftUL4fIu9h016zgLt0LiL8frBTgREOss-XiOFIQ6ZBx9UOzV_d4HXbu4lL3Nl94=" shash="dF5x76BeCH3ShV+ysriDMa5faU3p/XV+WrEI/c6ua481l414eJyOU+C5iJrY13sSO5VnxWpcfEJxVZAY7LHpHDPvwVPa+/ty9XBiWR3IfiRqfBA1RGPS0CnqCdzosVDXQu4Hzcp8q9UbDgoV1EIu8JUGmsdU56RHRHfAKneiREk=" target="_blank">here</a>, and check out the latest resources at the AHA Post-acute Care&nbsp;<a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Femail.membership.aha.org%2FNzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1UANVYTdLR_0fKgLZvSKNH7Gcj-fl9JMBJhvVEZHTFYYaMHTnO2JT7IDwH66ouilC14%3D&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdsamuels%40aha.org%7Ca0144b5f114a4b3be2a508db4b39364a%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C638186481320300160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Vmr0CT54cY1e1LPRAqVinFVw4HjDGOUwWmrhkAadsfE%3D&amp;reserved=0" originalsrc="https://email.membership.aha.org/NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGLfKXe1UANVYTdLR_0fKgLZvSKNH7Gcj-fl9JMBJhvVEZHTFYYaMHTnO2JT7IDwH66ouilC14=" shash="oVhA6Nv8hiqkq+k5gDqn7pCfsn6Bjjy9ZLyKkQ9mwC81XHInunc+U1m/erSdR1qPxaiCUXdqs6cEqQcJ2hiVysnS8pcuVEkaob2/dE8RGgLDzgiCRyBzafjWBIvSfdsjWDYKgBtDmqRPnVx5aTLKA0Z4qBbEeNhe3NtEoQVbvms=" target="_blank">website</a>. Shawna L. Brown Director, Post-acute Care &amp; Federal Members Services Field Engagement Wed, 03 May 2023 16:50:54 -0500 Advocacy