AHA: Don't cut hospitals to pay for antimicrobial drug provision

The AHA today urged the House Energy and Commerce Committee not to cut payments to hospitals to pay for Section 2123 of the 21st Century Cures Act, which provides for additional payment under Medicare Part A with respect to patient discharges involving new antimicrobial drugs. “While the AHA supports efforts to encourage the development and responsible use of new antimicrobial drugs, the language in Section 2123 cuts payments to hospitals to pay for the new program,” wrote AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack. “We urge the committee to either allocate additional money outside the current DRG system to be used to provide this additional payment or remove Section 2123 from the legislation.”