/ en Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:15:00 -0500 Mon, 14 Apr 25 12:15:37 -0500 <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p>The House of Representatives and Senate have passed a combined budget resolution, allowing the chambers to move forward with the <a href="/issue-landing-page/2025-02-07-budget-reconciliation-process-resource-page">reconciliation process</a> as Republicans try to enact a key piece of the president’s agenda. House and Senate committees will begin drafting legislation consistent with their instructions from the budget resolution.</p><p>Specifically, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has primary jurisdiction over Medicaid and other health care programs, has been instructed to reduce deficits by not less than $880 billion so significant Medicaid cuts are being considered.</p><h2><span>Take Action</span></h2><p><strong>With your senators and representatives home in their states and districts for the next two weeks, please reach out to your lawmakers and urge them to reject funding cuts to Medicaid and other health care programs as part of reconciliation bill. Please tell your lawmakers how cuts to Medicaid and other programs would reduce access to care and services for patients in your communities. The AHA has a number of resources, including new ones on Medicaid, that can assist your advocacy efforts.</strong></p><h2>AHA Resources</h2><h3>Medicaid and Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTC)</h3><p><strong>Explain how vital Medicaid is to your communities.</strong> The AHA has developed several resources hospitals and health systems can use.</p><ul><li><span><strong>NEW!</strong></span><strong> Protect Access to Care.</strong> Use this <a href="/fact-sheets/2025-04-14-protect-access-care-reject-cuts-medicaid-program-and-premium-hikes-working-families">infographic</a> to demonstrate the national hospital impact of potential Medicaid cuts and EPTCs expiring.</li><li><span><strong>NEW!</strong></span><strong> What’s at Stake.</strong> Use this <a href="/fact-sheets/2025-04-14-whats-stake-medicaid-covers-people-you-know">fact sheet</a> to show the makeup of Medicaid coverage across the country and what’s at stake if Congress cuts the program.</li></ul><p>In addition, the AHA has a series of additional resources to assist you in your advocacy to protect Medicaid, including the following:</p><ul><li><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-medicaid">General Fact Sheet on Medicaid</a></li><li><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-medicaid-provider-taxes">Fact Sheet on Medicaid Provider Taxes</a></li><li><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-medicaid-provider-taxes">Fact Sheet on Medicaid Hospital Payment Basics</a></li><li><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-capita-caps-medicaid-program">Medicaid Per Capita Caps</a></li></ul><p><strong>Explain why Congress should </strong><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-enhanced-premium-tax-credits"><strong>extend the EPTCs</strong></a> before they expire at the end of the year as they have increased access to health care coverage and high-quality care for patients and communities served by hospitals, health systems and other providers.</p><h3>Site-neutral Payment Policies</h3><p><strong>Tell your lawmakers why they should </strong><a href="/advocacy/advocacy-issues/2023-09-11-advocacy-issue-site-neutral-payment-proposals"><strong>reject site-neutral policies</strong></a><strong>,</strong> as they would reduce patient access to vital health care services, particularly in rural and other medically underserved communities.</p><h3>340B Drug Pricing Program</h3><p><strong>Ask your lawmakers to </strong><a href="/340b-drug-savings-program"><strong>preserve the 340B program</strong></a> to ensure the program continues to help eligible hospitals stretch limited resources and provide more comprehensive services to more patients.</p><h2>Further Questions</h2><p>Visit the <a href="/advocacy/action-center">AHA Action Center</a> for more resources on these issues and other priorities important to hospitals and health systems.</p><p>If you have further questions, please contact AHA at <a href="tel:1-800-424-4301">800-424-4301</a>.</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/04/Action-Alert-TAKE-ACTION-Urge-Lawmakers-to-Reject-Medicaid-Cuts-Protect-Access-to-Care.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the Action Alert TAKE ACTION: Urge Lawmakers to Reject Medicaid Cuts, Protect Access to Care PDF."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Page-1-Action-Alert-TAKE-ACTION-Urge-Lawmakers-to-Reject-Medicaid-Cuts-Protect-Access-to-Care.png" data-entity-uuid="6711b1a3-0cbf-4224-bfd8-94cda212c07f" data-entity-type="file" alt="Action Alert TAKE ACTION: Urge Lawmakers to Reject Medicaid Cuts, Protect Access to Care page 1." width="695" height="900"></a></p></div></div></div> Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:15:37 -0500 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC) /fact-sheets/2025-04-14-protect-access-care-reject-cuts-medicaid-program-and-premium-hikes-working-families <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/04/Protect-Access-to-Care-Reject-cuts-to-the-Medicaid-program-and-premium-hikes-on-working-families.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the Protect Access to Care: Reject cuts to the Medicaid program and premium hikes on working families PDF."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Protect-Access-to-Care-Reject-cuts-to-the-Medicaid-program-and-premium-hikes-on-working-families.png" data-entity-uuid="c001b8d1-d304-46e2-900b-524456f65c4c" data-entity-type="file" alt="Protect Access to Care: Reject cuts to the Medicaid program and premium hikes on working families. If Congress cuts Medicaid, hospitals would see significant imparts that vary by policy: Per Capita Caps for All Medicaid Population: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$47.6 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$468.1 billion. Per Capita Caps for Expansion Population: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$18.9 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$199.9 billion. Eliminate Enhanced FMAP for Expansion Population: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$32 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$360.6 billion. Reduce FMAP Statutory Floor to 45%: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$7.3 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$78.4 billion. Limit Provider Taxes to 5%: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$3 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$32.8 billion. If the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs) expire: 2.2 million individuals are at risk of becoming uninsured in 2026; 4 million individuals are facing higher costs due to loss of Marketplace coverage in 2026; $705 average per person increase in annual premiums in 2026; -$28.2 billion reduction in spending on hospitals over 10 years." width="695" height="900"></a></p></div><div class="col-md-4"><div class="external-link spacer"><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2025/04/Protect-Access-to-Care-Reject-cuts-to-the-Medicaid-program-and-premium-hikes-on-working-families.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the Protect Access to Care: Reject cuts to the Medicaid program and premium hikes on working families PDF.">Download the Infographic PDF</a></div></div></div></div> Mon, 14 Apr 2025 10:10:24 -0500 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC) /news/blog/2025-02-27-blog-3-ways-not-extending-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-would-hurt-patients-rural-communities <p>Congress passed into law legislation in 2021 that allowed additional eligibility for enhanced premium tax credits to help certain individuals and families purchase insurance on the health insurance marketplaces. This change has been especially impactful for those in rural areas, who tend to face higher premiums and fewer coverage options, in allowing them to access needed health care coverage.</p><p>These EPTCs are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. If they are not extended, millions of Americans will lose coverage or incur significantly higher costs. The largest disruptions will be felt by those who can face some of the highest challenges: the individuals and families living in rural communities.</p><p>Below are three takeaways about the potential impacts of ending EPTCs on rural patients and communities:</p><p>I<strong>ncreases in Coverage Disruptions and Uninsured Populations.</strong> Analysis by KNG Consulting for the AHA shows the most rural states in America would experience, on average, a <strong>30% decrease in marketplace coverage and a 37% increase in their uninsured populations.</strong></p><p><strong>Higher Taxes Via Premium Increases</strong>. The EPTCs helped millions of rural Americans purchase affordable commercial health care coverage and access necessary health care. <strong>The expiration of this policy would both harm the health of entire rural communities and raise individuals’ taxes via premium increases.</strong></p><p><strong>Exacerbated Health Care Access Challenges.</strong> Rural populations have more complex health needs, face longer travel distances to providers and have fewer health care options. T<strong>he EPTCs are a fundamental support for keeping critical health care access in rural communities and their expiration would exacerbate these existing access challenges.</strong> </p><p>The AHA urges Congress to continue the EPTCs as they remain an important part of increased access to health care coverage and high-quality care for patients and communities served by hospitals, health systems and other providers. See the <a href="/2025-02-27-fact-sheet-expiration-enhanced-premium-tax-credits" target="_blank" title="AHA Fact Sheet">AHA fact sheet</a> for more details.</p> Thu, 27 Feb 2025 22:58:48 -0600 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC) /2025-02-27-fact-sheet-expiration-enhanced-premium-tax-credits <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"> li::marker { color:#9d2235; } <h2><span><em>The Issue</em></span></h2><p>In 2021, Congress expanded eligibility for enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs or tax credits) to help certain individuals and families purchase insurance on the health insurance marketplaces. This change has been especially impactful for those in rural areas, who tend to face higher premiums and fewer coverage options,1 as well as those with lower incomes.</p><p>These EPTCs are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. If they are not extended, millions of Americans will lose coverage or incur significantly higher costs. The largest disruptions would be felt by individuals and families living in rural communities that have experienced significant benefits from the expanded health care coverage.</p><h2><span><em>AHA Take</em></span></h2><p>In order to continue the life-saving care to rural and low-income patients, as well as the stability of the entire health care system, the AHA urges Congress to extend the EPTCs.</p><h2><span><em>Why?</em></span></h2><ul><li>The EPTCs helped millions of Americans purchase affordable commercial health care coverage and access necessary health care. <span><strong>The</strong> <strong>expiration of this policy would both harm the health of communities and raise individuals’ taxes via premium increases</strong></span><strong>.</strong><sup>2</sup></li><li>Analysis by KNG Consulting for the AHA shows that the expiration of the EPTCs would <span><strong>disproportionately affect those in rural areas and those with lower incomes</strong></span>. Specifically, the most rural states in America would experience, on average, a <span><strong>30% decrease in marketplace coverage and a 37% increase in their uninsured populations</strong></span>.<sup>3</sup></li><li>Rural populations have more complex health needs, experience higher average health insurance premiums, are much more likely to be uninsured, face longer travel distances to providers and have fewer health care options. <span><strong>The EPTCs are a fundamental support for critical health care access in rural communities nationwide</strong></span>.</li><li>Individuals with lower incomes and less formal education also face greater health vulnerabilities due to higher rates of chronic conditions and financial barriers to receiving timely care. <span><strong>The expiration of the EPTCs would exacerbate these existing health care comorbidities and access challenges</strong></span>.</li><li>Rural states would see higher rates of disruption in coverage, with larger percentages of residents losing marketplace coverage and becoming uninsured. <span><strong>These disruptions are particularly high in rural states that have not expanded Medicaid</strong></span>.</li></ul><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/image_47.png" data-entity-uuid="1f0d0920-f6b0-4485-848e-e6e5a85682a4" data-entity-type="file" alt="Image of figure 8" width="407" height="484" class="align-center"><p><sup>1</sup> <a href="https://americanscovered.org/big-for-farm-states-why-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-are-essential-for-rural-americans/" target="_blank" title="AmericansCovered.org Website"><small class="sm">americanscovered.org/big-for-farm-states-why-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-are-essential-for-rural-americans /</small></a><small class="sm">.</small><br><small class="sm"><sup>2</sup> </small><a href="https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/issue-brief/inflation-reduction-act-health-insurance-subsidies-what-is-their-impact-and-what-would-happen-if-they-expire/" target="_blank" title="KFF.org website"><small class="sm">kff.org/affordable-care-act/issue-brief/inflation-reduction-act-health-insurance-subsidies-what-is-their-impact-and-what-would-happenif-they-expire/</small></a><small class="sm">.</small><br><small class="sm"><sup>3</sup> Calculated as the average percent impact on coverage for the most rural states in the United States, as of 2024. See World Population Review, State Rankings, Most Rural States 2024,” at </small><a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/most-rural-states" target="_blank" title="Worldpopulation.com website"><small class="sm">worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/most-rural-states</small></a><small class="sm">.</small></p></div><div class="col-md-4"><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/02/fact-sheet-expiration-of-the-enhanced-premium-tax-credits.pdf"><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/cover-fact-sheet-expiration-of-the-enhanced-premium-tax-credits.png" data-entity-uuid="9ca02e14-416c-474d-86cf-5394575e1fc9" data-entity-type="file" alt="Fact Sheet cover image" width="682" height="882"></a></div></div></div> Thu, 27 Feb 2025 13:48:48 -0600 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC) /advocacy/advocacy-issues/enhanced-premium-tax-credits <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p>The federal government offers enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs or tax credits) to help some individuals and families purchase insurance on the health insurance marketplaces. These 2021 tax credits — due to expire in 2025 — have resulted in an additional 10 million people gaining coverage through the health insurance marketplaces and others receiving assistance paying their health insurance costs.</p><h2>AHA Position</h2><p>In support of the health of our patients and communities, as well as the stability of the entire health care system, the AHA urges Congress to extend the enhanced premium tax credits.</p><div class="row"><div class="col-md-6"><p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/04/Protect-Access-to-Care-Reject-cuts-to-the-Medicaid-program-and-premium-hikes-on-working-families.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the Protect Access to Care: Reject cuts to the Medicaid program and premium hikes on working families PDF."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Protect-Access-to-Care-Reject-cuts-to-the-Medicaid-program-and-premium-hikes-on-working-families.png" data-entity-uuid="c001b8d1-d304-46e2-900b-524456f65c4c" data-entity-type="file" alt="Protect Access to Care: Reject cuts to the Medicaid program and premium hikes on working families. If Congress cuts Medicaid, hospitals would see significant imparts that vary by policy: Per Capita Caps for All Medicaid Population: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$47.6 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$468.1 billion. Per Capita Caps for Expansion Population: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$18.9 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$199.9 billion. Eliminate Enhanced FMAP for Expansion Population: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$32 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$360.6 billion. Reduce FMAP Statutory Floor to 45%: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$7.3 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$78.4 billion. Limit Provider Taxes to 5%: 1-Year National Hospital Impact in 2026 -$3 billion; 10-Year National Hospital Impact through 2024: -$32.8 billion. If the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs) expire: 2.2 million individuals are at risk of becoming uninsured in 2026; 4 million individuals are facing higher costs due to loss of Marketplace coverage in 2026; $705 average per person increase in annual premiums in 2026; -$28.2 billion reduction in spending on hospitals over 10 years." width="695" height="900"></a></p></div></div><h2>Key Resources</h2><ul><li><span><strong>NEW:</strong></span> <a href="/fact-sheets/2025-04-14-protect-access-care-reject-cuts-medicaid-program-and-premium-hikes-working-families">Infographic: Protect Access to Care: Reject cuts to the Medicaid program and premium hikes on working families.</a></li><li><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-enhanced-premium-tax-credits">Fact Sheet: Enhanced Premium Tax Credits</a></li></ul></div><div class="col-md-4"><p><div class="views-element-container"> <section class="top-level-view js-view-dom-id-b9fe585b5abc95d3df30d8142b1232d02747e275d3a5afc87f8a9085be50fbbb resource-block"> <h3>Latest Enhanced Premium Tax Credit Advocacy and News</h3> <div class="resource-wrapper"> <div class="resource-view"> <div class="article views-row"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-access-level"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="meta custom-lock-position"> <div class="views-field-access-level access-type-member-non-fed" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="Members only"><a href="/taxonomy/term/280" hreflang="en">Member Non-Fed</a></div> </div></div> </div><div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/action-alert/2025-04-14-take-action-urge-lawmakers-reject-medicaid-cuts-protect-access-care" hreflang="en">TAKE ACTION: Urge Lawmakers to Reject Medicaid Cuts, Protect Access to Care</a></span> </div><div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content"><time datetime="2025-04-14T12:15:37-05:00">Apr 14, 2025</time> </span> </div></div> <div class="article views-row"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-access-level"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="meta custom-lock-position"> <div class="views-field-access-level access-type-public" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="Members only"><a href="/taxonomy/term/278" hreflang="en">Public</a></div> </div></div> </div><div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-04-14-protect-access-care-reject-cuts-medicaid-program-and-premium-hikes-working-families" hreflang="en">Protect Access to Care: Reject cuts to the Medicaid program and premium hikes on working families.</a></span> </div><div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content"><time datetime="2025-04-14T10:10:24-05:00">Apr 14, 2025</time> </span> </div></div> <div class="article views-row"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-access-level"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="meta custom-lock-position"> <div class="views-field-access-level access-type-public" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="Members only"><a href="/taxonomy/term/278" hreflang="en">Public</a></div> </div></div> </div><div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/news/blog/2025-02-27-blog-3-ways-not-extending-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-would-hurt-patients-rural-communities" hreflang="en">Blog: 3 Ways Not Extending the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Would Hurt Patients in Rural Communities</a></span> </div><div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content"><time datetime="2025-02-27T22:58:48-06:00">Feb 27, 2025</time> </span> </div></div> <div class="article views-row"> <div class="views-field views-field-field-access-level"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="meta custom-lock-position"> <div class="views-field-access-level access-type-public" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" title="Members only"><a href="/taxonomy/term/278" hreflang="en">Public</a></div> </div></div> </div><div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/2025-02-27-fact-sheet-expiration-enhanced-premium-tax-credits" hreflang="en">Fact Sheet: Expiration of the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits</a></span> </div><div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content"><time datetime="2025-02-27T13:48:48-06:00">Feb 27, 2025</time> </span> </div></div> <div class="article views-row"> <div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/advocacy/advocacy-issues/enhanced-premium-tax-credits" hreflang="en">Advocacy Issue: Enhanced Premium Tax Credits</a></span> </div><div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content"><time datetime="2025-02-07T20:45:17-06:00">Feb 7, 2025</time> </span> </div></div> </div> </div> <div class="more-link"><a href="/topics/enhanced-premium-tax-credit-eptc">More on Enhanced Premium Tax Credit</a></div> </section> </div> </p></div></div></div> .meta.custom-lock-position { position: relative; top: 0px; right: inherit; display: block; float: right; } Fri, 07 Feb 2025 20:45:17 -0600 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC) <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><p>In December, Congress passed a legislative package to fund the government through March 14 and extend key health care provisions through the end of March. Congressional action is needed once again to fund the government and ensure long-term stability for these critical health care programs. At the same time, House and Senate Republicans are planning a strategy to use the budget reconciliation process to accomplish some of their legislative priorities, and Congress must raise the debt ceiling in the coming months. As part of these strategies, they are considering proposals that would reduce funding for hospital care, including reductions to the Medicaid program, jeopardizing access to the 24/7 care and services that hospitals provide.</p><h2>Action Needed</h2><p><strong>Please ask your senators and representatives to prevent Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payment cuts from taking effect; extend enhanced low-volume adjustment and Medicare-dependent hospital programs that expand access to care in rural areas; and extend telehealth and hospital-at-home waivers. These policies are currently set to expire at the end of March and must be extended.</strong></p><p><strong>In your discussions with your legislators, please continue to share the valuable role your hospital or health system plays in the community they represent and urge them to reject cuts that would jeopardize access to hospital care and services that patients rely on.</strong></p><p>More details and resources to support your advocacy efforts on these important issues follow.</p><h2>Health Care Extenders</h2><p>Congress passed a legislative package in December that extended some key health care provisions through the end of March, but additional congressional action is needed.</p><ul><li><strong>Prevent Medicaid DSH Cuts.</strong> The Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) program provides essential financial assistance to hospitals that care for our nation’s most vulnerable populations — children, the impoverished, disabled and elderly. Without congressional action, billions in cuts would take effect April 1. <strong>See the </strong><a href="/system/files/media/file/2020/02/fact-sheet-medicaid-dsh-0120.pdf"><strong>Medicaid DSH fact sheet</strong></a><strong> for more details.</strong></li><li><strong>Extend Key Rural Programs.</strong> The enhanced low-volume adjustment and Medicare-dependent hospital programs provide rural, geographically isolated and low-volume hospitals additional financial support to ensure rural residents have access to care. Without congressional action, these programs will expire on April 1. <strong>See the </strong><a href="/fact-sheets/2022-08-30-fact-sheet-rural-hospital-support-act-s4009-assistance-rural-community"><strong>rural programs fact sheet</strong></a><strong> for more details.</strong></li><li><strong>Extend Telehealth and Hospital-at-Home Waivers.</strong> Congress has extended telehealth waivers and the hospital-at-home program through March 31, but additional action is needed. See the <a href="/advocacy/advocacy-issues/2024-10-31-advocacy-issue-telehealth-waivers">telehealth</a> and <a href="/fact-sheets/2024-08-06-fact-sheet-extending-hospital-home-program">hospital-at-home fact sheets</a> for more details.</li></ul><h2>Critical Issues for the 119th Congress</h2><p>Following our Feb. 5 advocacy update webinar for members, we are providing new fact sheets and primers on emerging issues of significant importance for hospitals and health systems. We will be providing updates, new resources and data on these and other issues to help your advocacy efforts throughout the year.</p><h3>Reject Cuts to Medicaid</h3><p>Republican leaders continue to have discussions about how to use reconciliation — a <a href="/issue-landing-page/2025-02-07-budget-reconciliation-process-resource-page">budget tool</a> that gives Congress a fast-track mechanism to avoid the Senate filibuster and pass legislation with a simple majority. House and Senate Republicans are expected to use the budget reconciliation process to try to pass key agenda items on taxes, energy and border security, and they may look to health program funding as a way to pay for this legislation. <strong>Such proposals could significantly reduce federal spending for the Medicaid program. Even a small portion of possible reductions could have wide-ranging negative consequences for the health and well-being of both Medicaid enrollees and the broader health care system.</strong></p><p>The AHA has developed a number of resources hospitals and health systems can use as part of their advocacy efforts, including the following:</p><ul><li><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-medicaid">General Fact Sheet on Medicaid</a></li><li><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-medicaid-provider-taxes">Fact Sheet on Medicaid Provider Taxes</a></li><li><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-medicaid-hospital-payment-basics">Fact Sheet on Medicaid Hospital Payment Basics</a></li><li><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-capita-caps-medicaid-program">Medicaid Per Capita Caps</a></li></ul><h3>Extend Enhanced Premium Tax Credits</h3><p>The federal government offers enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs) to help eligible individuals and families purchase coverage on the health insurance marketplaces. These policies are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. <strong>Congress should extend the EPTCs before the end of the year</strong> as they have increased access to health care coverage and high-quality care for patients and communities served by hospitals, health systems and other providers. <strong>Download the AHA fact sheet, which includes new data on the negative impact of not extending the </strong><a href="/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-enhanced-premium-tax-credits"><strong>EPTCs</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><h3>Reject Site-neutral Payment Cuts</h3><p>Congress is considering several bills that would impose billions in Medicare site-neutral payment reductions for services provided in hospital outpatient departments. <strong>Congress should reject site-neutral proposals</strong> because they would reduce patient access to vital health care services, particularly in rural and other medically underserved communities. <strong>See AHA resources on the detrimental impact of </strong><a href="/advocacy/advocacy-issues/2023-09-11-advocacy-issue-site-neutral-payment-proposals"><strong>site-neutral policies</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><h3>Protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program</h3><p>For more than 30 years, the 340B Drug Pricing Program has provided financial help to hospitals serving vulnerable communities to manage rising prescription drug costs. However, some in Congress and the pharmaceutical industry want to see the program scaled back. <strong>Congress should protect the 340B program</strong> for all providers and ensure the program continues to help stretch limited resources and provide more comprehensive services to more patients. <strong>Download the AHA fact sheets on the </strong><a href="/340b-drug-savings-program"><strong>340B program</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><h2>Further Questions</h2><p>Visit the <a href="/advocacy/action-center">AHA Action Center</a> for more resources on these issues and other priorities important to hospitals and health systems. Watch for more Action Alerts and resources from the AHA to assist your advocacy efforts. If you have further questions, please contact AHA at 800-424-4301.</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/02/Contact-Your-Lawmakers-and-Urge-Them-to-Extend-Key-Health-Care-Policies-Set-to-Expire-Next-Month.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the Action Alert ACTION NEEDED: Contact Your Lawmakers and Urge Them to Extend Key Health Care Policies Set to Expire Next Month PDF."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Page-1-Contact-Your-Lawmakers-and-Urge-Them-to-Extend-Key-Health-Care-Policies-Set-to-Expire-Next-Month.png" data-entity-uuid="2dd3d759-0b56-4a54-8cdb-d635ee169360" data-entity-type="file" alt="Action Alert: ACTION NEEDED: Contact Your Lawmakers and Urge Them to Extend Key Health Care Policies Set to Expire Next Month page 1." width="696" height="900"></a></p></div></div></div> Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:04:02 -0600 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC) /fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-enhanced-premium-tax-credits <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><h2>The Issue</h2><p>The federal government offers enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs or tax credits) to help some individuals and families purchase insurance on the health insurance marketplaces. Eligibility and tax credit amounts are based on the individual or family’s income level, as well as their access to other forms of comprehensive coverage, e.g., through their employer.</p><p>In 2021, Congress increased and expanded eligibility for the tax credits; however, those policies are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. These 2021 tax credits have resulted in an additional 10 million people gaining coverage through the health insurance marketplaces while others receiving assistance paying their health insurance costs.<a href="#fn1"><sup>1</sup></a> This has increased access to health care coverage and high quality care for patients and communities served by hospitals, health systems and other providers.</p><h2>AHA Take</h2><p>In support of the health of our patients and communities, as well as the stability of the entire health care system, the AHA urges Congress to extend the enhanced premium tax credits.</p><h2>Why?</h2><ul><li>The tax credits helped millions of Americans purchase affordable commercial health care coverage. <span><strong>The expiration of this policy would effectively be a tax increase of $700 on average for millions of people across the nation.</strong></span></li><li>The expiration of the enhanced tax credits would lead to an increase in the number of uninsured people. There would be a disproportionate impact to those in rural states and those with lower incomes.</li><li>Some states would see higher rates of disruption in coverage and loss of federal tax funds, particularly those that have not expanded Medicaid. Several of these states, such as Texas and Florida, experienced some of the highest enrollment growth in the health insurance marketplaces due to the enhanced tax credits.</li><li>The loss of coverage would put considerable financial stress on hospitals, health systems and other providers, which will face more uncompensated care and bad debt. This, in turn, would make it difficult for them to maintain services in their communities KNG Health Consulting found that <span><strong>allowing the EPTCs to expire would result in a $28 billion reduction in hospital spending over 10 years.</strong></span></li></ul><h2>Background</h2><p>Certain individuals and families are eligible for prospective, monthly tax credits that lower the cost of health insurance marketplace premiums. To be eligible, these individuals or families must:</p><ul><li>Meet certain income thresholds, based on the federal poverty level (FPL).<a href="#fn2"><sup>2</sup></a></li><li>Not be eligible for other comprehensive coverage, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or affordable employer-sponsored coverage (defined as costing less than 8.5% of household income).<a href="#fn3"><sup>3</sup></a></li><li>Be a U.S. citizen or have proof of legal residency or, as of Jan. 1, 2025, be eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.</li><li>If married, file taxes jointly.</li></ul><p>The amount of tax credit that an individual or family is eligible for is based on household income, as well as the cost of the second-lowest silver plan in the individual’s market. Once an individual or family has been determined eligible and selected their preferred health plan, the tax credit is immediately applied directly to the premium; thus, the enrollee only needs to pay the remaining amount.</p><hr><ol><li id="fn1"><a href="https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/issue-brief/a-look-at-aca-coverage-through-the-marketplaces-and-medicaid-expansion-ahead-of-potential-policy-changes">kff.org/affordable-care-act/issue-brief/a-look-at-aca-coverage-through-the-marketplaces-and-medicaid-expansion-ahead-of-potential-policy-changes</a></li><li id="fn2">The income used to calculate the EPTCs is an estimate by the applicant based on what they expect their household income to be in the coming year. When filing taxes at the end of the year, they may receive additional tax credits if their income was lower than expected. Alternatively, they may have to repay some of their tax credit if their income was higher than expected.</li><li id="fn3">For employer-sponsored coverage to be considered affordable, it must meet a minimum value requirement, and the annual premium must be equal to or less than 9.02% of the individual’s household income.</li></ol></div><div class="col-md-4"><p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/02/Fact-Sheet-Enhanced-Premium-Tax-Credits-20250207.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the Fact Sheet: Enhanced Premium Tax Credits PDF."><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Page-1-Fact-Sheet-Enhanced-Premium-Tax-Credits-20250228.png" data-entity-uuid="13585e49-ae34-4b87-ad0a-5fca1e589d6f" data-entity-type="file" alt="Fact Sheet: Enhanced Premium Tax Credits page 1." width="695" height="900"></a></p></div></div></div> h2 { color: #003087; } Fri, 07 Feb 2025 10:38:20 -0600 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC) /advancing-health-podcast/2025-01-27-leadership-dialogue-series-tackling-todays-health-care-challenges <p>2025 will bring new and familiar challenges for the health care industry, and the ���������� Association is ready to support hospitals and health systems across the nation. In the first Leadership Dialogue of 2025, Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health and 2025 AHA board chair, talks with two policy experts at the AHA — Stacey Hughes, executive vice president of government relations and public policy, and Ashley Thompson, senior vice president of public policy analysis and development — about the current political climate, the potential impacts to health care policies, and how the AHA is primed to continue its mission to advance health in America.</p><hr><div></div><hr><div class="raw-html-embed"> <details class="transcript"> <summary> <h2 title="Click here to open/close the transcript."> <span>View Transcript</span><br>   </h2> </summary> <p> 00:00:00:20 - 00:00:29:13<br> Tom Haederle<br> Welcome to Advancing Health - and to the first Leadership Dialogue of the year - hosted by the ���������� Association's 2025 Board Chair, Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health. Today, two senior AHA leaders join Tina to discuss key issues in health care and how the AHA is working on many fronts to support hospitals and health systems so they can provide the best care to patients and communities. </p> <p> 00:00:29:15 - 00:00:56:10<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> Hello and thank you everyone for joining us today. In 2025, the ���������� Association is all in in tackling the challenges that are facing health care today. I am looking forward to using this Leadership Dialogue series to highlight the incredible ways the ���������� Association and our member hospitals and health systems are making health better. My name is Tina Freese Decker, and I'm the president and CEO of Corewell Health </p> <p> 00:00:56:12 - 00:01:23:05<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> and the 2025 ���������� Association board chair. As we kick off this new year, I want to start by introducing you to a few amazing leaders within the ���������� Association who will help us navigate the year ahead. The ���������� Association is here to help remove those barriers so as hospitals and health systems, we can provide the very best care to our patients and communities. </p> <p> 00:01:23:07 - 00:01:45:04<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> So today, while we don't have all the time to meet the full AHA team, I'm so excited to introduce you to Stacy Hughes and Ashley Thompson, two fantastic individuals who lead the AHA's government relations and public policy work. One of the things that gives me the most confidence in our approach is when I listen and I talk with them. </p> <p> 00:01:45:07 - 00:02:02:23<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> So I thought it would be really beneficial for all of you, our members, to hear from them. So let's begin. So Stacy and Ashley, welcome. So glad to see you today. Let's start with some introductions and share what you do with the ���������� Association. Stacy? </p> <p> 00:02:02:25 - 00:02:21:05<br> Stacey Hughes<br> Sure. Thank you for this opportunity. We're so excited about your year ahead and working with you. And we're really appreciative of having a chance to showcase a little bit about what our team is up to. But I'm Stacy Hughes. I'm executive vice president in the D.C. office and oversee regulatory policy, federal relations PAC, and some of our communication efforts. </p> <p> 00:02:21:08 - 00:02:25:06<br> Stacey Hughes<br> Have a great team here. And we're going to talk more about that. But that's my role here, Tina. </p> <p> 00:02:25:14 - 00:02:26:28<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> Thank you. Ashley? </p> <p> 00:02:27:00 - 00:02:50:00<br> Ashley Thompson<br> Thank you, Tina, so much for giving us this opportunity and for your leadership on the board in the past and especially this year as chair. I'm Ashley Thompson. I'm the senior vice president of policy here at AHA. I lead a team of about 24 very amazing, talented individuals. The work that we do is really on behalf of hospitals and the patients they serve. </p> <p> 00:02:50:03 - 00:03:10:11<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> As we think about the work ahead of us this year, I also want to learn more about what you and your teams are doing. So the ���������� Association is a bipartisan organization, and we work with all lawmakers to advance the issues that mean the most to us as hospitals and health systems. So, Stacy, tell us about the team that you lead. </p> <p> 00:03:10:14 - 00:03:17:10<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> The depth of expertise and their balance and how your team is preparing for this new administration in Congress. </p> <p> 00:03:17:12 - 00:03:36:03<br> Stacey Hughes<br> Sure. And I couldn't be more proud to be honest with you. And I have to say, you know, I give Rick and others a such a shout out for the legacy, you know, Ashley says she's here 23 years, I'm starting year five. Boy, both what I inherited as a team that were here day one, and then how we've grown as people have, you know, rolled off or changed jobs. </p> <p> 00:03:36:05 - 00:04:01:12<br> Stacey Hughes<br> It is solid. We've got, you know, lobbyists that have all worked largely on Capitol Hill or they were deeply, deeply immersed in the issues that are critical to hospitals. I'll ask you to talk about the policy team that we work on together. We've got such currency politically with the lobbyists that are on the team. Our colleagues and my colleagues, Lisa Kidder, she's been here 20 years. Amy Kuhlman, there's no one better than Amy in terms of leading our lobbyist team. </p> <p> 00:04:01:12 - 00:04:24:17<br> Stacey Hughes<br> So both their experience actually on the Hill, writing bills, knowing all the member offices. You know, we cover every single office here, you know, House and Senate. That's a lot to say Grace over. In terms of preparing, obviously this is a unified town now, it's a Republican town. We had a bit of a sweep. So we're busy getting ready to look at how we frame our issues with a very specific audience. </p> <p> 00:04:24:19 - 00:04:44:10<br> Stacey Hughes<br> But in addition, Tina, as you know, this is a pretty sweeping election in terms of retirements. There are 14 new Senate freshmen between Republicans and Democrats. There are about 55 new freshmen House members. So a big part of what we're doing is educating them early and often. Lisa and Amy and others are putting together a 101 of hospital issues. </p> <p> 00:04:44:16 - 00:05:00:09<br> Stacey Hughes<br> They understand our field immediately and early, and be a resource for them. So everyone is readying for what is going to be. And then we'll talk more about what the year ahead, what the expectations are. But it's a lot. And we are excited that the team is ready, but they have great skills. </p> <p> 00:05:00:09 - 00:05:04:20<br> Stacey Hughes<br> And, couldn't be more proud to be collaborating with them and leading them. </p> <p> 00:05:04:23 - 00:05:14:25<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> And as you do that education, are our lawmakers interested in health care? Are they appreciative of the education, the orientation and the one on one that we provide? And when we show up. </p> <p> 00:05:14:28 - 00:05:31:24<br> Stacey Hughes<br> They are and, you know, we're in the process of so getting out some of our very specific every congressional districts or what that hospital footprint looks like, you know, who's in your backyard, how many jobs are you providing that community? What is your role in the economic engine of that community? What are you doing in terms of serving that population? </p> <p> 00:05:31:24 - 00:05:48:28<br> Stacey Hughes<br> And they are interested. I think that, you know, as you know, there are a lot of threats around the financing of hospital, particularly the burden on the federal government and debt. And so being able to bring it to life to them, what we're really doing with limited resources and our contribution to communities, </p> <p> 00:05:48:28 - 00:06:03:25<br> Stacey Hughes<br> they do appreciate it. And particularly the role we play in terms of our jobs and their district. But it takes time. You know, you really have to tell the story, go to make sure you invest in that time. You always want to know your members before you need them. And I think that's important. </p> <p> 00:06:03:27 - 00:06:16:00<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> Ashley, I'd like to ask you the same question. So share a quick overview with us of some of the issue areas of policy expertise that you have amongst your team members, and what's the one thing your team is gearing up for this year that you can share with us? </p> <p> 00:06:16:02 - 00:06:42:09<br> Ashley Thompson<br> Well, like Stacey, I am so proud of the policy team. Many of the individuals, I think there are 24 of them, have been here for a very long time. They are true issue area experts. They are smart, they are talented, they are motivated. And I will say that they really want to improve health and health care in America and get hospitals, the resources that they need to really care for their patients. </p> <p> 00:06:42:11 - 00:07:09:03<br> Ashley Thompson<br> We are kind of divided into four areas. So we have Medicare payment, coverage, quality and patient safety, and data and research are kind of the big buckets. But underneath them we tackle probably any issue that hospitals deal with. We have experts on AI, we have experts on prior authorization. We have experts on quality. So it's really a diverse group. </p> <p> 00:07:09:06 - 00:07:27:09<br> Ashley Thompson<br> I would say that it's really hard to pick the one issue that they're going to be dealing with this year. I think that there's probably four that are most important. And Stacey and I have been working on this together with others across the association. I think one of them is to protect Medicaid and its enrollees. </p> <p> 00:07:27:09 - 00:07:49:16<br> Ashley Thompson<br> I think the second one is to ensure what we call the marketplace premium tax credits continue after the end of this year. About 10 million people have gotten coverage due to those tax credits, and we don't want them to lose coverage. The third area is to make sure that hospitals are not subjected to site neutral payments. </p> <p> 00:07:49:18 - 00:08:09:12<br> Ashley Thompson<br> And then I'd say the fourth area is probably protecting 340B, which is the drug pricing program. So those are definitely on our radar. But it goes beyond that. There are so many issues, I think our advocacy agenda came out this week. I haven't counted there's probably 75 plus issues that we are actively working. </p> <p> 00:08:09:14 - 00:08:34:21<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> And we're so appreciative of kind of highlighting the main areas that we need to focus on, but then understanding that as hospitals and health systems, we're not all alike and there are different issues that come up that we need to navigate as we move forward. Again, what I am so proud of is your team, both of your teams, really have the expertise and the experience to help tackle this and guide us as members as we move forward. </p> <p> 00:08:34:23 - 00:08:56:08<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> You know, there's also a much broader team at ���������� Association that's supporting the work of our field  - from legal to communications to the quality of patient safety, field engagement. There's so many people that are ready to assist our members. So let's talk a bit about how our members and our leaders and our hospitals and our health systems might work with the ���������� Association on those issues. </p> <p> 00:08:56:11 - 00:09:13:02<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> So, Stacy, can you tell us how your team engages with the members? And this time not the members of the Capitol Hill, but it's like hospitals and health systems. How can our hospital and health system leaders get more involved in advocacy efforts, and why is that important? </p> <p> 00:09:13:05 - 00:09:31:26<br> Stacey Hughes<br> Sure. Well, first and foremost, you know, our teams are constantly working with our members. I know Ashley would say the same, whether it's policy or federal relations. And that's just in the everyday, just grind of learning how to address issues and learn from them in terms of what we actually advocate for, that's an ongoing thing. But to your point, there are a lot of different ways that we work with members. </p> <p> 00:09:31:26 - 00:09:51:09<br> Stacey Hughes<br> One is through our government relations officer network. Certainly we work through our allieds, all the 50 state hospital executives, and is a huge partner for us in terms of our advocacy. But in terms of your of a hospital health system, main thing you can do is get to know your delegation. You know, I know you guys do this both obviously with your state, representatives and your state elected officials. </p> <p> 00:09:51:09 - 00:10:07:20<br> Stacey Hughes<br> But on the federal side, really getting to know them and telling that story often. And also, don't be afraid to go to them and let them know when you have a problem. You really want to get them invested in your success. And it doesn't take much. And I think we all, going through Covid, we saw how much everyone does stand up. </p> <p> 00:10:07:20 - 00:10:25:00<br> Stacey Hughes<br> They recognize the importance of making sure we have a sustainable, functioning hospital network and health systems. And so being sure to take that leap, give your member a call, get to know the staff and being willing to advocate. I mean, I will say, you know, we put out these advocacy alerts and, we try to be judicious. </p> <p> 00:10:25:00 - 00:10:45:00<br> Stacey Hughes<br> We don't want to say "hair on fire" every day, but we do have a lot of challenges coming, Tina, as you know, in terms of all the pressures to address some of the deficit issues, mandatory programs like Medicare, Medicaid are the top drivers of the deficit and spending. So we have a lot coming up. But we really say when we do give a call to action, we really need it. </p> <p> 00:10:45:00 - 00:11:00:21<br> Stacey Hughes<br> And in particular, if you know you have a member of Congress or senator that is uniquely positioned on committees of jurisdiction as well as leadership, you want to make sure there no daylight between what you're doing, what your needs are, and what they understand in terms of their education. </p> <p> 00:11:00:24 - 00:11:11:25<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> Great advice. Thank you so much, Ashley. Similarly, are there examples of member engagement that you can speak to that have been particularly successful or impactful in influencing policy development? </p> <p> 00:11:11:28 - 00:11:38:24<br> Ashley Thompson<br> Yeah, I actually think that one of the reasons why AHA is so successful is because of our policy development process. I think it's very unique. Through our committees and our regional policy board meetings, we touch probably 550 CEOs or C-suite leaders three times a year. And we bring to them, you know, our committees, our grouped by kind of type of hospital, whether you're rural or post-acute or whether you're behavioral health. </p> <p> 00:11:38:26 - 00:12:02:26<br> Ashley Thompson<br> And then our regions are just what it says. We divide up by region and they weigh in on policy development. So they weigh in on what should we do about physician payment, what should we do about health care affordability? What should we do about the increase in medical debt? What should we do about X, Y, and Z? And it's a really a thoughtful, like iterative process. </p> <p> 00:12:02:29 - 00:12:39:24<br> Ashley Thompson<br> We also have strategic leadership groups. We also have task forces that we staff on certain issues, whether it's principles or whether it's health care, the future. You know, what should we do about workforce issues? So we really rely on everyone to weigh in. And of course, our board of trustees. So we rely very heavily on our board. And thank you again for your chairmanship of it to help direct the association, to direct our policy positions, to direct what recommendations we come up with, and often to direct our strategy of how to achieve what we want in terms of outcomes. </p> <p> 00:12:39:24 - 00:12:59:11<br> Ashley Thompson<br> And so I do think that AHA, and particularly probably the policy team given the work that we do, has a lot of connections and we really rely on that and we want to hear from our members and we want them to be active and engaged, because the more they communicate with us, the better we can represent them on Capitol Hill or with the administration. </p> <p> 00:12:59:13 - 00:13:28:16<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> I completely agree, and one of the most impactful, stories that I have is when I took one of our lawmakers through our mental health area and just highlighted what we are doing well, but what we need their support in. And then you could see that happen with bills came up and things needed to be impacted. And so I'm sure that there are stories like that in every part of our organizations and our membership about how that personal touch is so incredibly important as we drive forward. </p> <p> 00:13:28:16 - 00:13:37:27<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> All right. Are there any last comments, or thoughts on the year ahead that would be most helpful for you and your teams that you want to share with us? </p> <p> 00:13:38:00 - 00:14:02:21<br> Ashley Thompson<br> I think it's going to be a very challenging year. I know that the AHA is going to be really working hard on behalf of our members, and I think that the team at is very motivated to do so. Very similar to employees in hospitals, or the staff in the hospitals. I think that we tend to rise when there's a crisis and we rise to that occasion. </p> <p> 00:14:02:21 - 00:14:24:08<br> Ashley Thompson<br> And whether it's Covid or whether it was going to be repeal and replace of the ACA a few years ago, several years ago, or whether it's the Change Health care cyber event, I really think that AHA is here to serve its members, to get them through those hard times and to put them on a trajectory in the future. </p> <p> 00:14:24:08 - 00:14:35:13<br> Ashley Thompson<br> And I want our members to know that this the staff team at AHA is really committed to doing so, to really making sure that you have the resources that you need in order to care for your patients. </p> <p> 00:14:35:15 - 00:14:44:00<br> Stacey Hughes<br> Yeah, so well said. I would just add, you know, we think about the year, reflecting back between Change Healthcare, OneBlood supply in Florida and Baxter. </p> <p> 00:14:44:03 - 00:15:04:12<br> Stacey Hughes<br> And that was just weeks ago, if you really think about it in terms of the need for the association with your leadership and others, Tina, to really jump in and problem solve quickly and mitigate those types of issues. But I'll just say going into the year, I think I've kind of beaten that drum a little bit. But you know, we are, as Ashley said, we are working so far, the policy team and others to bring forth data. </p> <p> 00:15:04:18 - 00:15:22:11<br> Stacey Hughes<br> One of the ways that we win these battles is being able to tell a story with very specific data. We've got some pretty difficult issues, one of which is extending the ACA subsidies, I think Ashley mentioned. Knowing what that looks like to your hospital. How does it affect your bottom line? How does it affect patients? How does it affect the insurance coverage? </p> <p> 00:15:22:11 - 00:15:45:18<br> Stacey Hughes<br> I think that's true for Medicaid. So when we put all this stuff together, really would encourage everyone or field to take that information and help tell the story and amplify as much as we can. We'll do all the work for you in terms of making sure that we get you guys what you need to be able to understand the implications of some of these policies, but really just, welcome everyone's ability to engage with their members of Congress. </p> <p> 00:15:45:18 - 00:15:49:10<br> Stacey Hughes<br> So, that's my final note, I would say, Tina, in terms of the year ahead. </p> <p> 00:15:49:13 - 00:16:12:15<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> That's perfect. So thank you so much for your time today. And I really enjoy working with you and working with your teams. As you both said: the AHA teams are all in, we're ready to go. We're excited, we're passionate. This is you know what gets us up in the morning moving forward. And we need that partnership with our member hospitals and health systems to make sure we have the data and the stories and the connection there. </p> <p> 00:16:12:18 - 00:16:33:05<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> So it really takes this whole ecosystem to come together to make an impact and to make an impact for policies, the regulations that are coming forth, most importantly, so we can do an even better job taking care of our communities and improving health. And so we're so grateful for all the work that you and your teams are doing at the ���������� Association. </p> <p> 00:16:33:08 - 00:16:50:11<br> Tina Freese Decker<br> I know that it's going to be a tough year but with the focus and the energy, I think we can accomplish a lot of things. So thank you so much. To all of our members listening in, thank you so much for joining us today. And we'll be back next month for another Leadership Dialogue conversation. </p> <p> 00:16:50:13 - 00:16:58:24<br> Tom Haederle<br> Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. </p> </details> </div> Mon, 27 Jan 2025 08:22:51 -0600 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC) /news/perspective/2025-01-24-year-action-ensure-access-care-and-advance-health-america <p>All eyes this week have been on Washington, D.C., as President Trump was inaugurated and the 119<sup>th</sup> Congress — with Republicans holding majorities in the House and the Senate — beginning its legislative work.</p><p>As always with a change of administration and congressional leadership, there are new opportunities to explore and new challenges to navigate.</p><p>Administration and congressional leaders continue to plot out their legislative strategy for funding the federal government, which must occur by March 14; raising the debt ceiling; and using reconciliation — a budget tool that gives Congress a fast-track mechanism to avoid the Senate filibuster and pass legislation with a simple majority — to push through priorities on taxes, border security, energy and deficit reduction.</p><p>All of these instances will provide opportunities to go on offense and advocate for priorities that support hospitals’ ability to deliver quality care their communities depend on. At the same time, these instances present significant challenges that will require us  to play defense  so  we can preserve access to the 24/7 care hospitals provide for patients and communities.</p><p>For example, on offense we’re advocating to extend the Marketplace Premium Tax Credits to ensure millions of Americans can continue to access health insurance; boost programs that support access to care in rural communities; and provide relief from burdensome policies that take caregivers away from providing patient care and increase costs. On defense, among other issues, we’ll need to prevent significant reductions to Medicaid and Medicare funding that would jeopardize access to hospital care and services; protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program from harmful changes; and preserve not-for-profit hospitals’ tax-exempt status so they can continue providing community benefits tailored to their communities’ unique needs.</p><p>You can find out more about all of these issues and others as part of AHA’s recently released <a href="/advocacy-agenda" target="_blank" title="AHA Advocacy Agenda">Advocacy Agenda</a>. </p><p>While activity on Capitol Hill is expected to be fast and furious during the next few months, here are three things hospital and health system leaders can do to ensure our field’s voices are heard.</p><ol><li><strong>Stay engaged with the AHA and Coalition.</strong> The AHA will be providing hospital and health system leaders timely alerts and information on the latest developments from Capitol Hill, as well as new advocacy tools and resources to help you tell your story. In addition, the <a href="https://strengthenhealthcare.org" target="_blank" title="Coalition to Strengthen America's Healthcare">Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare</a>, of which the AHA is a founding member, will be running advertising on key issues, as well as engaging its more than 2.6 million grassroots supporters to take action. <br> </li><li><strong>Tell your story to your lawmakers.</strong> While the AHA and Coalition provide the air cover here in Washington, nothing is more powerful than your voice — and the voices of your team members, trustees, patients and community members — with your senators and representatives. You live, work and, most importantly, vote in their districts and states. You have their attention and can explain to them the impact policy proposals would have for their constituents and your ability to provide care. <br> </li><li><strong>Remain united as a field.</strong> While there will be many legislative proposals that come out during the next few weeks and months, it’s more important than ever that our field remains united. We’ve seen time and time again when our field speaks with a strong, united and collective voice — policymakers and lawmakers hear us. And we get results.</li></ol><p>We may be living in unpredictable times, but one thing that is predictable — and will never change — is that hospitals will always be a source of health, healing and hope. Hospitals always will be focused on providing life-saving care to anyone who walks through their doors as well as promoting wellness. And hospitals will always be cornerstones of the communities they serve as we work together to advance health in America.</p> Fri, 24 Jan 2025 08:37:32 -0600 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC) /advocacy-agenda <div class="raw-html-embed"><div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> <h2><span>Introduction</span></h2> <p>America’s hospitals and health systems are unwavering in their commitment to delivering safe and quality care to every patient, in every community. The blue and white “H” symbol is a beacon of healing, hope and health in every community nationwide.</p> <p>Despite this steadfast commitment, hospitals and health systems face formidable challenges. They continue to grapple with significant workforce shortages, escalating costs of care, inadequate government reimbursement and a heavy regulatory burden.</p> <p>In 2025, the ���������� Association (AHA) will engage with Congress, the Administration, regulatory bodies and the judiciary to shape public policy to advance hospitals’ efforts to provide quality patient care. The AHA also will focus on ensuring the long-term viability of hospitals to serve their communities and promote health and wellness.</p> <p>By addressing these challenges head-on, the AHA supports hospitals and health systems in their crucial role of caring for patients and advancing health, ensuring that the promise of the “H” symbol remains strong and reliable.</p> <p>Our 2025 Advocacy Agenda is focused on:</p> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensuring Access to Care</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Strengthening the Health Care Workforce</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advancing Quality and Health Care System Resiliency</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Leading Innovation in Care Delivery</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reducing Health Care System Costs for Patient Care</strong></li> </ul> <p>The following includes a detailed list of our advocacy priorities and key highlights. Please explore this page and the Advocacy link in our website navigation for more resources and information on the priorities in this document and our latest advocacy campaigns.</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <div class="external-link spacer"><strong><strong><a class="btn btn-wide btn-primary" href="/system/files/media/file/2025/01/AHA-2025-Advocacy-Agenda-20250114.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA 2025 Advocacy Agenda PDF.">Download the 2025 Advocacy Agenda PDF</a></strong></strong></div> <p><a href="/system/files/media/file/2025/01/AHA-2025-Advocacy-Agenda-20250114.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the AHA 2025 Advocacy Agenda PDF."><img alt="���������� Association 2025 Advocacy Agenda cover." src="/sites/default/files/2025-01/Page-1-AHA-2025-Advocacy-Agenda-20250114.png"></a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <h2><span>Detailed Advocacy Agenda</span></h2> <div class="col-md-12 cc_tabs"> /* reset */ .cc_tabs ul.a-container { 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border-top-left-radius: 15px; border-top-right-radius: 15px; font-weight: 700; } @media (max-width:452px){ .cc_tabs .tab button{ padding: 10px 5px 10px 5px; width: calc(50% - 4px); font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 2px; } } /* Change background color of buttons on hover */ .cc_tabs .tab button:hover { background-color: #003087; color:#fff } /* Create an active/current "tab button" class */ .cc_tabs .tab button.active { background-color: #003087; color: #ffffff } /* Style the tab content */ .cc_tabs .tab .tabcontent { float: left; padding: 15px 12px; border: 1px solid #ccc; width: 100%; height: auto; } .cc_tabs .tablinks:after { content: '\2610'; color: #777; font-weight: bold; float: right; margin-left: 5px; } .cc_tabs .tablinks.active:after { content: "\2611"; } <div class="tab">Key HighlightsEnsuring Access to CareStrengthening the Health Care WorkforceAdvancing Quality and Health Care System ResiliencyLeading Innovation in Care DeliveryReducing Health Care System Costs for Patient Care</div> <div class="tabcontent" id="highlights"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Highlights <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits</strong> to ensure millions of Americans can continue to access health insurance and prevent hospitals from shouldering an even greater financial burden.</li> <li class="diamond">Ensure essential health care services are available in all communities by <strong>safeguarding federal funding for Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Health Insurance Marketplaces.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reject additional payment cuts</strong> that do not recognize legitimate differences among provider settings (<strong>so-called site-neutral or facility-fee payment policies</strong>).</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program</strong> to ensure hospitals can maintain vital patient services and expand access to care.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure Medicaid is fully funded</strong> to allow hospitals to continue to serve the Medicaid, uninsured and marginalized populations in their communities, including through support of the current FMAP rates, the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program, Upper Payment Limits and Directed Payments, and the financing sources that sustain them.</li> <li class="diamond">Bolster support for hospitals and health systems so they can <strong>prepare for and respond to natural and man-made disruptions, including natural disasters, cyberattacks and supply chain failures.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Hold commercial health insurers accountable</strong> for ensuring appropriate patient access to care, including reducing the excessive use of utilization management programs, ensuring adequate provider networks, reducing account receivables and limiting inappropriate denials for services.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Bolster the health care workforce</strong> by enacting important protections against violence in health care settings, eliminating federal restrictions that limit the ability of providers to practice at the top of their license, and increasing funding for clinical training programs.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Enact regulatory and administrative relief</strong> from burdensome policies that take caregivers away from providing patient care and increase costs for patients and the health care system.</li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="accesstocare"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Financial Stability of the Health Care System <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond">Ensure essential health care services are available in all communities by <strong>safeguarding federal funding for Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Health Insurance Marketplaces.</strong> Government programs currently reimburse providers significantly less than the cost of delivering care.</li> <li class="diamond">Ensure patient access to critical care and other outpatient services by <strong>rejecting additional payment cuts</strong> that do not recognize legitimate differences among provider settings (also known as so-called site-neutral or facility-fee payment policies) and policies that restrict patient access to certain sites of care (also known as site-of-service policies).</li> <li class="diamond">Preserve the gains in health coverage made over the past decade, including by <strong>extending the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits</strong> for coverage through the health insurance marketplaces.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program</strong> to ensure hospitals can maintain vital patient services and expand access to care by reversing harmful policies and holding drug manufacturers accountable to the program rules, <strong>especially community pharmacy arrangements.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure Medicaid is fully funded</strong> to allow hospitals to continue to serve the Medicaid, uninsured and underserved populations in their communities, including through support of the current FMAP rates, the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program, Upper Payment Limits and Directed Payments, and the financing sources that sustain them.</li> <li class="diamond">Pursue a new <strong>“metropolitan anchor hospital”</strong> designation for certain hospitals that provide critical health care services to marginalized and underrepresented communities.</li> <li class="diamond">Ensure the <strong>Federal Emergency Management Agency follows through on its commitment to reimburse hospitals</strong> appropriately and timely for the resources they provide during public health emergencies and other disasters.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Mitigate Medicare payment reductions to ensure patient access to physicians.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Rein in rising drug costs</strong> by taking steps to increase drug manufacturer competition, improve drug pricing transparency and hold pharmacy benefit managers accountable for illegal practices that increase costs and reduce coverage for patients and providers.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Enact regulatory and administrative relief</strong> from burdensome policies that take caregivers away from providing patient care and increase costs for patients and the health care system.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Protect not-for-profit hospitals’ tax-exempt</strong> status so they can continue providing community benefits tailored to their communities’ unique needs, demographics and policy realities.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Protect access to clinical laboratory services in hospital-based laboratories.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Protect access to care by <strong>preserving the existing ban on the growth and expansion of physician-owned hospitals.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Coverage and Access <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure access to care for veterans</strong> by working with the Department of Veterans Affairs as it implements the next generation of comprehensive community care for veterans.</li> <li class="diamond">Support policy and federal oversight changes to <strong>ensure the appropriate use of donated organs in time for a successful transplant</strong>, the ability to effectively use new strategies for harvesting and preserving organs until donated and coordinated, and rational regulation of transplant centers, donor hospitals and organ procurement organizations.</li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Rural Hospitals <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond">Protect rural communities’ access to care by <strong>making permanent critical programs, including the Medicare-dependent Hospital designation, Low-volume Adjustment and ambulance add-on payment.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Improve rural health programs by <strong>reopening the necessary provider designation for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), reversing cuts to Rural Health Clinic payments, removing the 96-hour condition of payment for CAHs and further strengthening Medicare-dependent and Sole Community Hospitals</strong> by allowing participating hospitals to choose from an additional base year when calculating payments.</li> <li class="diamond">Advance rural health care alternatives to ensure care delivery and financing by <strong>supporting and refining the Rural Emergency Hospital model.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Continue to support legislation that would <strong>place a floor on the area wage index, effectively raising it for hospitals below that threshold with new money.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support Medicare Advantage payment parity for CAHs</strong> to ensure the long-term health of providers and facilities that care for patients in rural areas, considering the volume of Medicare Advantage enrollment in those communities.</li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Post-Acute Care <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Bolster patient access to post-acute care by establishing appropriate network adequacy requirements</strong> for long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Eliminate the proposed minimum staffing requirements for skilled nursing and long-term care facilities</strong> and instead press for long-term solutions to health care workforce shortages.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Provide stability under the long-term care hospital prospective payment system</strong> through legislative and regulatory reforms that provide adequate reimbursement for high-cost patients and those with high acuity levels.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have access to the same post-acute care benefits as Traditional Medicare beneficiaries</strong> by holding plans accountable through robust oversight and enforcement.</li> <li class="diamond">Reduce administrative burden for post-acute care providers by <strong>eliminating unnecessary data reporting requirements.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Behavioral Health <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Implement policies to better integrate and coordinate behavioral health services with physical health services</strong>, including developing alternative payment models and bundled payments that incorporate behavioral and physical health services and financially supporting the implementation of team-based care models.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Eliminate Medicare’s 90-day lifetime limit for inpatient psychiatric admissions.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Repeal the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Disease exclusion</strong>, which prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds to cover inpatient mental health services for patients aged 21 to 64 in certain freestanding psychiatric facilities.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reauthorize key programs in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act</strong>, which would extend expiring payments, grants and other programs for substance use disorder treatment and prevention.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Increase targeted funding for facilities that provide specialty mental health services</strong> (including pediatric, geriatric and multi-substance use disorders) and <strong>invest in the behavioral health workforce</strong> by creating dedicated Medicare-funded graduate medical education slots for these specialties.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Make permanent the Certified Community Behavioral Health Center demonstration program.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Eliminate or amend outdated and unnecessary Conditions of Participation for psychiatric facilities</strong> related to emergency care and treatment planning documentation.</li> <li class="diamond">Strengthen enforcement through significant <strong>penalties for health plans that violate the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and subsequent rules.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Commercial Insurer Accountability <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Hold commercial health insurers accountable for ensuring appropriate patient access to care</strong>, including by reducing the excessive use of prior authorization, ensuring adequate provider networks, limiting inappropriate denials for services that should be covered and prohibiting certain specialty pharmacy policies, like insurer-mandated “white bagging,” that create patient safety risks and limit patient access to certain medications in hospital settings.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure stronger enforcement of federal rules related to Medicare Advantage</strong> through increased oversight and insurer scrutiny.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Increase oversight and accountability of commercial health plans through increased data collection, reporting and transparency</strong> on core plan performance metrics that are meaningful indicators of patient access, such as appeals, denials and grievances, and reporting on using algorithms and artificial intelligence in utilization management programs.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Establish a prompt payment standard for Medicare Advantage</strong> to ensure timely claims payment.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Apply guardrails to insurer algorithms and artificial intelligence use</strong> to ensure these tools do not inappropriately create barriers for patients to access medical care.</li> <li class="diamond">Ensure patients can rely on their coverage by <strong>disallowing health plans from inappropriately delaying and denying care</strong>, including by making unilateral mid-year coverage changes.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Prevent improper insurer manipulation of oversight tools</strong> designed to ensure premium dollars are spent on patient care (e.g., medical loss ratio requirements).</li> <li class="diamond">Advocate for regulatory and legislative solutions to <strong>prevent health plans from enacting inappropriate fees for electronic payments.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="workforce"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Workforce Shortages <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Address physician shortages</strong>, including shortages of behavioral health providers, by increasing the number of residency slots eligible for Medicare funding while rejecting cuts to Medicare graduate medical education.</li> <li class="diamond">Encourage the <strong>continuation of visa waivers for physicians in medically underserved areas and recapture of unused employment visas for doctors and nurses.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Address nursing shortages by <strong>reauthorizing nursing workforce development programs</strong> to support recruitment, retention and advanced education for nurses and other allied health professionals and investing in nursing schools, nurse faculty salaries and hospital training time.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reduce administrative burdens that take clinicians away from the bedside and contribute to burnout</strong>, such as excessive and unnecessary prior authorization use and inappropriate coverage denials that require substantive clerical rework by staff.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support apprenticeship programs for nursing assistants and other critical support staff positions.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Adopt policies to expand loan repayment and other incentive-based programs to retain existing talent and attract new talent</strong>, including through continued funding of the National Health Service Corps and National Nurse Corps.</li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Workforce Safety <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Strengthen workplace safety by enacting federal protections for health care workers against violence and intimidation</strong> and providing hospitals with grant funding for education and training programs, coordination efforts with state and local law enforcement, and physical plant improvements.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reject additional federal workplace violence regulations that would be duplicative of the rigorous accreditation requirements hospitals already face</strong> and that would add administrative burden.</li> <li class="diamond">Protect health care workers from threats against them in their homes by <strong>permanently removing the requirement that practitioners rendering telehealth services from their homes report their home addresses on Medicare enrollment or claims forms.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Licensure Standards <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond">Support efforts to <strong>allow non-physicians to practice at the top of their licenses.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Allow non-physician licensed practitioners to provide and be paid for certain clinical services, including behavioral health services, by <strong>expediting licensure processes, allowing for general rather than direct supervision and removing unnecessary practice restrictions as clinically appropriate.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Promote medical licensure reciprocity to allow practitioners to work across state lines.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Remove unnecessary and stigmatizing language around mental health from licensure and credentialing processes.</strong></li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="quality"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Quality <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for streamlined Conditions of Participation</strong> and other regulatory standards that promote safe, high-quality care without increasing administrative burden.</li> <li class="diamond">Pursue strategies and support public policies aimed at <strong>improving maternal and child health access and outcomes.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Enhance the effectiveness and lower the burden of the Physician Quality Payment Program</strong> by advocating for more accurate and meaningful cost measures and appropriately pacing the implementation of new program approaches, such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System Value Pathways.</li> <li class="diamond">Promote approaches to <strong>account for health-related social needs in quality measurement and value programs where appropriate</strong> to ensure appropriate performance comparisons and payment adjustments.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for measures that matter in advancing quality and patient safety</strong> and that help hospitals and health systems identify important opportunities to ensure all patients achieve the best possible outcomes for their conditions. Work to ensure federal, state, and payer performance assessments use these same measures in order to reduce measurement burden.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate to discontinue measures</strong> that either fail to provide meaningful, credible information to advance patient quality or safety or have administrative burdens that outweigh their value to improving care.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Promote meaningful changes</strong> in federal funding of research to improve the delivery of safe, effective care, the efficiency of care, the effective use of care teams, and the leadership and governance processes most likely to yield improvements in patient outcomes and experience of care.</li> </ul> </div> </li> <li class="a-items"> Resiliency and Preparedness <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for increased annual appropriations for the Hospital Preparedness Program</strong> to ensure that the health care infrastructure is ready to respond to crises. Continue efforts to ensure that most of this funding is awarded to hospitals and health systems to enhance emergency preparedness and surge capacity.</li> <li class="diamond">Support federal incentives and investments to improve <strong>hospitals’ disaster preparedness and operational resiliency.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Prevent and address shortages of critical medical drugs, devices, blood and blood products, and supplies, including working with Congress and the federal government to bring about policy changes that will <strong>avert future shortages by strengthening the medical supply chain.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advance policies that assist in protecting health care services, data and patients from cyberattacks</strong> while supporting efforts to deliver broader gains in computer security by shifting the burden of cybersecurity away from individual health systems.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Continue to support federal incentives and investments to improve the security posture of hospitals and health systems</strong>, including regulatory relief for hospitals and health systems that suffer a cyberattack despite having recognized cybersecurity practices in place, and push back on any new cybersecurity regulation not inclusive of the entire health sector.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for increased accountability of third-party technology vendors in HIPAA.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support regulation of artificial intelligence that enables continued innovation while providing reasonable guardrails</strong> to ensure patient safety and improved outcomes for all patients.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support clear minimum privacy standards in HIPAA</strong> that account for how data is used, shared and created in hospitals and health systems.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support the continued development of clinician burden reduction technologies</strong> to help caregivers reduce administrative requirements to spend more time on direct patient care.</li> <li class="diamond">Advocate for the adoption of a <strong>universal patient identification number</strong> to support patient safety efforts.</li> <li class="diamond">Continue to support federal investments in <strong>improving broadband infrastructure</strong>, especially in rural and underserved areas of the country.</li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="innovation"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Leading Innovation in Care Delivery <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support the move to value-based care</strong>, with a particular focus on solutions for the longterm financial viability of hospitals and health systems by offering some level of predictable, up-front payment.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Advocate for incentive payments</strong> to support hospitals and health systems’ transition to taking on higher levels of risk.</li> <li class="diamond">Advocate for implementing <strong>new voluntary payment models</strong> so hospitals are not forced to bear the expense of participation in these complicated programs if they do not believe it will benefit patients.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Create a permanent CMS hospital-at-home program</strong>, shown to be a safe and innovative approach to caring for patients in the comfort of their homes that leads to high patient satisfaction and, for some patients, results in shorter recovery times.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Remove barriers</strong> to cross-sector and interagency coordination and support investments to provide accountable care.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Make permanent coverage of certain telehealth services</strong> made possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, including lifting geographic and originating site restrictions, allowing Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers to serve as distant sites, expanding practitioners who can provide telehealth and allowing hospital outpatient billing for virtual services, among others.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Implement a special registration process for telemedicine providers</strong> to ensure access to telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances for practitioners who register with the Drug Enforcement Agency. Preserve pandemic-era waivers until the special registration process begins.</li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="tabcontent" id="reducingcosts"> <ul class="a-container"> <li class="a-items"> Reducing Health Care System Costs for Patient Care <div class="a-content"> <ul class="diamond"> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure patients do not face financial barriers to care because of unaffordable deductibles or otherwise “skinny coverage,”</strong> such as health sharing ministries and short-term limited-duration coverage products.</li> <li class="diamond">Reduce the prevalence of individuals faced with unaffordable medical bills by <strong>addressing the root causes of medical debt</strong>, such as skyrocketing deductibles and other benefit designs that push costs onto consumers.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Support price transparency efforts by ensuring patients have access to the information they seek when preparing for care</strong>, including cost estimates when appropriate, and creating alignment of federal price transparency requirements to avoid patient confusion and overly burdensome duplication of efforts.</li> <li class="diamond">Advocate that No Surprises Act price transparency regulations leverage existing workflows and appropriate technology to <strong>enable patient access to information without significant administrative burden for providers.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Reduce unnecessary costs in the system by pursuing <strong>medical liability reform.</strong></li> <li class="diamond">Reduce regulatory burden by identifying and advocating for the <strong>repeal of unnecessary and duplicative Conditions of Participation</strong> that increase hospital inefficiency and reduce the time providers can spend caring for their patients.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Mitigate unreasonable proposed changes to the False Claims Act and related enforcement practices.</strong></li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Preserve the ability of hospital and health system clinical laboratories to develop new and innovative diagnostic tests, known as laboratory-developed tests (LDT)</strong>, to address unmet patient needs and improve existing diagnostic tests without imposing burdensome and unnecessary regulatory oversight.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Ensure public policies are aligned across government regulatory bodies</strong> so hospitals are not held to conflicting regulations.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Reduce regulatory barriers to hospitals improving the environment</strong>, such as Medicare Conditions of Participation that lock hospitals into compliance with outdated and less energy-efficient physical plants or deter from efforts to reduce the use of anesthesia gases and inhalers.</li> <li class="diamond"><strong>Prevent the imposition or increase of tariffs on vital medical supplies</strong>, including drugs, devices and raw materials used to manufacture devices and drugs in the U.S., as these will further raise medical services costs and potentially force hospitals to use less effective alternatives that could increase the patient harm risk.</li> </ul> </div> </li> </ul> </div> function openCity(evt, cityName) { var i, tabcontent, tablinks; tabcontent = document.getElementsByClassName("tabcontent"); for (i = 0; i < tabcontent.length; i++) { tabcontent[i].style.display = "none"; } tablinks = document.getElementsByClassName("tablinks"); for (i = 0; i < tablinks.length; i++) { tablinks[i].className = tablinks[i].className.replace(" active", ""); } document.getElementById(cityName).style.display = "block"; evt.currentTarget.className += " active"; } // Get the element with id="defaultOpen" and click on it document.getElementById("defaultOpen").click(); </div> </div> <div class="container"> <hr> <h3>AHA Advocacy Campaigns</h3> <p>Please visit <a href="/advocacy/action-center">www.aha.org/advocacy/action-center</a> to get involved and learn more about the ���������� Association’s 2025 public policy advocacy agenda.</p> </div> ul.diamond { list-style: none; margin-left: 20px; padding-left: 0; } li.diamond { padding-left: 1em; text-indent: 1em; } li.diamond:before { content: "◆"; color: #9d2235; padding-right: 10px; margin-left: -36px; } .resource-block-header .resource-block-title small { color: black; } </div> Wed, 15 Jan 2025 06:00:00 -0600 Enhanced Premium Tax Credit (EPTC)