Legislation and Legislative Advocacy

The American Hospital Association (AHA) shares resources on health care legislation being considered by the U.S. House and Senate and legislative advocacy opportunities for hospitals and health systems.

AHA encouraged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to work with Congress to require Medicare Advantage plans to waive prior authorization and other utilization management policies during public health emergencies, especially for hospitals transferring patients to post-acute care. 
Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, introduced the Senate companion to the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act (S. 3677), AHA-supported legislation that would expand the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program to federally-…
The Senate voted 65-27 to pass and send to the president a continuing resolution that would fund federal programs through March 11 to prevent a government shutdown when the current CR expires Feb. 18.
The Senate passed and sent to the president the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (H.R. 1667), AHA-supported legislation that would authorize grants for programs that offer behavioral health services for front-line health care workers.
The House yesterday voted 272-162 to pass a continuing resolution that would fund federal programs through March 11 to prevent a government shutdown when the current CR expires Feb. 18. The legislation also would extend through March 11 the current federal medical assistance percentage for certain…
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, today introduced a Senate companion to the Provider Relief Fund Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation that would require the Health Resources and Services Administration to distribute the remaining Provider Relief Funds by March 31. It…
In a statement submitted to House and Senate subcommittee hearings on fraud, price gouging and corporate profiteering during the COVID-19 pandemic, the AHA urged Congress to examine reports of anticompetitive conduct by travel staffing agencies and coordinate with the Federal Trade Commission and…
More than 24 months after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the U.S., the pandemic has afflicted millions of people across the country has imposed historic challenges for the hospitals and health systems that care for them.
AHA expressed support for the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act (H.R. 5703), bipartisan legislation that would expand the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP) to communities affected by federal emergency declarations.
Leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released for comment until Feb. 4 a discussion draft of bipartisan legislation to strengthen the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.