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.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and for decades prior, Metropolitan Anchor Hospitals (MAHs) have provided critical health care and social services to diverse populations in the nation’s cities.
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government moved quickly to ensure hospitals and health systems were able to respond efficiently and effectively to a wave of unprecedented need.
The AHA urges Congress to pass legislation to improve the oversight of MA plans and the ability of CMS to enforce existing regulations that are intended to ensure appropriate beneficiary access to medically necessary services. Additionally, congressional action is needed to specifically prohibit MA…
Now is not the time for reductions in Medicare payments to providers. Congress should pass legislation to again suspend Medicare sequester cuts, so that hospitals and health systems can continue to care for patients, families and communities.
The Issue The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath have resulted in historic challenges for hospitals and health systems and the communities they serve in terms of recovery and rebuilding, placing unprecedented stress on the entire health care system and its financing.
The AHA urges Congress and the Biden Administration to extend the H@H program as currently authorized under the waiver to allow providers to continue to take steps to transform care delivery in a way that improves patient experience and outcomes while ensuring high patient safety. The Hospital…
America’s hospitals and health systems continue to deal with the difficult challenges of high inflation and ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, hospitals are facing significant increases in costs of labor from workforce shortages, drugs, equipment and supplies (including food…
America’s hospitals and health systems continue to face unprecedented financial pressures due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and current inflationary economy. Historic inflation has extended and heightened the already severe economic instability brought on by the pandemic resulting…
The AHA urges Congress and the Biden Administration to prioritize funding for the infrastructure that supports the health care workforce needs of the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.
Congress should enact the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act, which provides health care workplace protections against violence similar to those that exist for flight crews, flight attendants and airport workers.