Fact Sheets

The American Hospital Association (AHA) fact sheets on important issues facing hospitals and health systems. Fact Sheets define the terms of issues facing hospitals and health systems and provide in-depth explanations of the AHA's position on these issues.

The AHA urges Congress to pass legislation to improve the oversight of MA plans and the ability of CMS to enforce existing regulations that are intended to ensure appropriate beneficiary access to medically necessary services. Additionally, congressional action is needed to specifically prohibit MA…
The AHA supports the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act (H.R. 8260/S. 4350) introduced in the House by Representatives Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and in the Senate by Senators Tom Carper, D-Del., and Tim Scott, R-S.C. The bill extends the H@H waiver for five…
The Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program provides essential financial assistance to hospitals that care for our nation’s most vulnerable populations, including children and those who are disabled and elderly. These hospitals also provide critical community services, such as trauma…
Congress is considering legislation that would change current billing practices for Medicare and the commercial insurance market to require each off-campus hospital outpatient department (HOPD) to be assigned a unique NPI as a condition of payment.
Since going into effect, CMS has made several changes to the Hospital Price Transparency Rule requirements on hospitals. The most recent set of changes, including requiring hospitals to use a standard machine-readable file format, go into effect July 1, 2024.
For the past several years, the health care field has experienced a sharp increase in workplace violence. The COVID-19 pandemic placed significant stress on the entire health care system, and in some situations, patients, visitors and family members have attacked health care staff and jeopardized…
It is broadly acknowledged that Medicare reimburses hospitals less than the cost of providing care and their reimbursement rates are non-negotiable.
Medicare pays most acute-care hospitals under the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS). Some of these hospitals receive additional support from Medicare to help address potential financial challenges associated with being rural, geographically isolated and low volume.These programs are…
NEW: National and State Impacts of Site-neutral Provisions in the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act (H.R. 5378
The Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Expansion Act (S. 2840) includes a provision that would prevent doctors and hospitals from negotiating reasonable agreements with commercial health insurance plans.