Regulatory Relief

The regulatory burden faced by hospitals is substantial and unsustainable.

Every day, hospitals, health systems and post-acute care providers confront the daunting task of complying with a growing number of federal regulations. They are constantly challenged to understand and implement new or revised regulations, while maintaining their core mission of providing high-quality patient care.

Providers appreciate that federal regulation is intended to ensure that health care patients receive safe, high-quality care, and prioritize it as a critical part of their day-to-day work.

But the scope and pace of the changes being made is out-stripping many providers’ ability to absorb them. At the same time, many of these regulations do not improve the quality of patient care or access to services.

Providers need relief now. Read on for more information and resources on the AHA's regulatory relief agenda.

President Trump today issued an executive order aimed at reducing regulation and controlling regulatory costs. “In addition to the management of the direct expenditure of taxpayer dollars through the budgeting process, it is essential to manage the costs associated with the governmental…
Press Release Statement on President Trump's Executive Order on Regulatory Relief Rick Pollack President and CEO American Hospital Association The regulatory burden that is imposed on hospitals and health systems is substantial and unsustainable, and has grown in recent years. We are…
As Congress considers year-end legislation, the AHA today reiterated its support for the Electronic Health Record Regulatory Relief Act (S. 3173) in a letter to leaders of the Senate Finance, House Ways and Means, and House Energy and Commerce Committees. Introduced in July by Sens.
The rule implementing the new Medicare physician quality payment program called for by the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) presents challenges and opportunities for hospitals, health systems and the nearly 540,000 directly employed or contracted physicians with whom…
With the clock ticking on the proposed Jan. 1, 2017 start date for the Quality Payment Program created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), the field breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it…
Physicians spent 27% of their office day on direct clinical face time with patients and 49% of their time on electronic health records and desk work, according to a study by the American Medical Association and Dartmouth-Hitchcock health system published this week in the Annals of Internal…