Fact Sheets
The American Hospital Association (AHA) fact sheets on important issues facing hospitals and health systems. Fact Sheets define the terms of issues facing hospitals and health systems and provide in-depth explanations of the AHA's position on these issues.
The following questions and answers were jointly developed and approved by the American Hospital Association’s Central Office on ICD-10-CM/PCS and the American Health Information Management Association.
The Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program provides essential financial assistance to hospitals that care for our nation’s most vulnerable populations — children, impoverished, disabled and elderly. These hospitals also provide critical community services, such as trauma and burn…
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health care field has experienced an increase in workplace violence. The pandemic has placed significant stress on the entire health care system, and unfortunately, in some situations, patients, visitors and family members have attacked health care…
Dobson | DaVanzo recently examined select operating, financial and patient characteristics of hospitals in categories defined by hospital ownership.1 This fact sheet provides descriptive statistics for physician owned hospitals (POHs) compared to non-physician owned hospitals.
On March 15, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its annual report on the commission’s recommendations for Fiscal Year 2024 Medicare payment updates.
The AHA strongly opposes site-neutral payment cuts, which would reduce access to critical health care services, especially in rural and other underserved communities.
The Issue
One of the most important tools that hospitals can use to increase access and quality of care and manage risk and financial pressures are mergers and acquisitions. A range of partnerships, mergers and acquisitions enable hospitals to expand service offerings, broaden networks and…
Some members of Congress continue to propose weakening Medicare’s prohibition on physician self-referral to new physician-owned hospitals and loosening restrictions on the growth of grandfathered hospitals. The Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2023 (H.R. 977/S.470), would allow…
Hospitals and health systems are committed to empowering patients with all the information they need to live their healthiest lives. This includes ensuring they have access to accurate price information when seeking care. Most hospitals use cost estimate tools to provide patient-specific price…
Significant workforce shortages at facilities, such as those in post-acute and behavioral health, is making it more difficult for hospitals to efficiently and appropriately discharge patients. Hospitals have to bear the costs of caring for patients for those excess days without any reimbursement.