AHA research reports examine key issues to inform the policy making process. These include the TrendWatch series, a periodic AHA publication that reports on the latest trends affecting hospitals and the health care system as well as other AHA sponsored studies.

Hospitals and Health Systems Prepare for a Value-driven Future, TrendWatch, December 2017
This TrendWatch report provides information to help hospitals and health systems evaluate which VBP model(s) may support their organization’s goals, and provides insights from seven hospitals and health systems participating in different VBP arrangements.

• Compendium

The Importance of Health Coverage
Approximately 90 percent of U.S. residents have health insurance with significant gains in health coverage occuring over the past five years. Health insurance facilitates access to care and is associated with lower death rates, better health outcomes, and improved productivity.

Regulatory Overload: Assessing the Regulatory Burden on Health Systems, Hospitals, and Post-acute Care Providers
This report assesses the administrative impact that existing federal regulations from just four agencies – CMS, OIG, OCR and ONC – have on health systems, hospitals and post-acute care providers across nine domains.

• Executive summary
• Full report

Infographic: Regulatory Burden Overwhelming Providers, Diverting Clinicians from Patient Care
Infographic: Federal Agencies with Regulatory or Oversight Authority Impacting Hospitals

A Critique of MedPAC’s Post-Acute Care Prospective Payment System Prototype Model Review and Policy Recommendations, September 2017
Model Review and Policy Recommendations (A report prepared by Dobson | DaVanzo for the American Hospital Association)

Telehealth: Delivering the Right Care, at the Right Place, at the Right Time: Case Examples of AHA Members in Action, July 2017

This AHA report explores a range of innovative solutions that hospitals and health systems are utilizing to deliver the right care, at the right place, at the right time. These examples illustrate the ingenuity of health care providers that have created measurable improvements in patient outcomes and savings for the health care system.

The Cost of Caring Data Brief, February 2017
Hospitals and health systems are where the most complex care is provided for ill and injured patients. Yet, spending on inpatient and outpatient care has slowed; in fact, Medicare spending growth for hospital services is at its lowest level in 17 years. This data brief looks at trends in health care and hospital spending growth and associated inputs that impact the cost of caring.

Hospitals are Economic Anchors in their Communities, January 2017
Hospitals serve as economic anchors in their communities by directly employing over 5.7 million workers. The economic contribution of hospitals is also felt throughout the economy – hospital spending supported one in nine U.S. jobs and more than $2.8 trillion in economic activity in 2015.