AHA encourages the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to work with Congress to require Medicare Advantage plans to waive prior authorization and other utilization management policies during public health emergencies, especially for hospitals transferring patients to post-acute care.
Letters
Throughout the year, the AHA comments on a vast number of proposed and interim final rules put forth by the federal regulatory agencies. In addition, AHA communicates with federal legislators to convey the hospital field's position on potential legislative changes that would impact patients and patient care. Below are the most recent letters from the AHA to these bodies.
Latest
Responding to a request for information on digital health, the AHA March 4th urged Congress to permanently eliminate all restrictions on telehealth originating and geographic sites; continue to allow rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers to serve as distant sites for all telehealth services beyond mental health; make certain additional practitioners are eligible to deliver telehealth services; allow hospital outpatient departments and critical access hospitals to bill for telehealth services; and allow hospitals to bill the originating site fee when hospital-based clinicians provide telehealth services to hospital outpatients at home.
: Letter with comments to CMS on the burden estimates associated with the delivery of good faith estimates to uninsured and self-pay patients and the patient-provider dispute resolution process established under the No Surprises Act.
AHA urges HHS to ensure hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program do not lose access to the program as a result of changes in patterns of patient care due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).
March 1, 2022
Letter to Senators Durbin and Portman expresses AHA’s support for the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act.
Commenting on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ hospital inpatient prospective payment system final rule for fiscal year 2022, the AHA expresses concern that the rule prioritizes Health Professional Shortage Areas and training time in HPSAs when distributing new graduate medical education slots to teaching hospitals, methods that do not reflect statutory intent and are operationally complicated.
The AHA and seven other national hospital organizations turge congressional leaders to act quickly to ensure hospitals and health systems have the additional resources they need to continue to care for their communities and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, including additional relief from Medicare sequester cuts in 2022.
AHA comments on a discussion draft of bipartisan legislation to strengthen the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.