Articles
Leadership, Community Partnerships, Recognition and Awards, Telling the Hospital Story
Perspective: Reinforcing the Crucial Role of Hospitals as Pillars of Their Communities
By Rick Pollack
Hospitals and health systems are doing tremendous work in their communities every single day. Whether it’s caring for a sick or injured patient, supporting a healthy food program, vaccinating people against COVID-19, educating patients about health and wellness, or using new technologies to detect diseases earlier, hospitals and health systems are committed on every front to the mission of advancing health.
Leadership, Workforce
Perspective: Highlighting Workforce Challenges and Solutions
By Rick Pollack
As every health care leader today can testify, the pandemic has tested the resilience of our health care workforce like never before. And as we know, without a resilient health force, we cannot exist. Our entire health care system breaks down. It's as simple as that.
Making Healthcare More Affordable, Advocacy & Public Policy, Leadership
Perspective: The Cost of Caring … and Working to Make Care More Affordable
By Rick Pollack
Affordable health care ranks among the top concerns for many Americans. It’s a concern that hospitals and health systems fully share … and we have been working hard to address.
Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19), COVID-19: Caring for Patients and Communities, Leadership
AHA responds to NY Times article spotlighting study on Provider Relief Fund
By Rick Pollack
The authors of a recent study that looked at CARES Act Provider Relief Funds allocated to health care institutions made arbitrary choices about which payments to include in the analysis. This resulted in incomplete or skewed findings.
Quality & Patient Safety, Leadership
Perspective: Streamlining Prior Authorization Requirements to Improve Patient Care
By Rick Pollack
Medicare Advantage plans provide essential health insurance coverage for approximately 22 million Americans, or about one-third of all Medicare beneficiaries.
Cybersecurity, Leadership
Perspective: Cybersecurity Must Be a Priority Each and Every Day
By Rick Pollack
Cybercrimes directed against hospitals and health systems have been on a massive upswing worldwide for several years, accelerating even more during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health Insurance, Leadership, Commercial Insurer Accountability
Perspective: Confronting Commercial Insurers’ Practices that Threaten Patient Care
By Rick Pollack
Hospitals and health systems put the health and welfare of their patients first. For some of the nation’s largest commercial health insurers, unfortunately, that is not always the case.
Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19), COVID-19: Vaccines and Therapeutics, COVID-19: Protecting Health Care Workers
Perspective: Upcoming CMS Mandatory Vaccination Rules Should be Feasible, Transparent and Fair
By Rick Pollack
Getting all health care personnel vaccinated against COVID-19 is the right thing to do to keep patients, staff and communities safe. Using a federal regulatory approach to achieve this important goal introduces new challenges that the AHA is working to address.
Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19), Leadership
Perspective: COVID-19 Challenges Continue and Continued Support Needed
By Rick Pollack
The optimism of early summer that we were turning the corner on COVID-19 has been replaced with hard reality. The pandemic will be with us for the foreseeable future, affecting not only our nation’s health, but also hospitals’ and health systems’ ability to improve it.
Legislation and Legislative Advocacy, Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19)
Perspective: All Eyes and Efforts on Capitol Hill
By Rick Pollack
For nearly 20 grueling months, hospitals and health systems – and their steadfast front-line caregivers – have risen to the incredible challenges caused by COVID-19.