WASHINGTON — The American Hospital Association (AHA) has urged congressional leaders to act on a range of health care issues before the end of the year, citing significant financial and operational pressures on hospitals and health systems.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, AHA President and CEO Richard J. Pollack highlighted challenges facing the nation’s nearly 5,000 hospitals, including rising expenses, inflation, insurer payment denials, and inadequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
Among its top priorities, the AHA called on Congress to:
- Prevent Medicaid DSH cuts: Delay $8 billion in scheduled payment reductions set to take effect October 1, 2025.
- Support rural hospitals: Extend Medicare-dependent Hospitals and Low-volume Adjustment programs beyond their September 30, 2025, expiration.
- Continue pandemic-era flexibilities: Permanently extend telehealth waivers and provide more time for hospital-at-home programs.
- Maintain Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs): Prevent expiration at the end of 2025, which could increase premiums by more than 75% and sharply reduce marketplace coverage.
- Reject site-neutral payments: Oppose cuts that would align hospital outpatient department rates with physician offices, which AHA argues would harm vulnerable patients.
- Protect the 340B program: Preserve the drug pricing program that helps hospitals expand services for low-income patients.
- Enact workplace protections: Pass the bipartisan Save Healthcare Workers Act to address violence against hospital staff.
- Reform prior authorization: Approve the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act to curb insurer delays in Medicare Advantage.
Pollack emphasized that without congressional action, patients’ access to care will be compromised. “We appreciate your leadership and look forward to working together to ensure patients continue to have access to quality care in their communities,” he wrote.
