AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION for AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION

Health Issues HCR

Support H.R. 526, Ensuring Coverage in Public Health Emergencies Act of 2021, a bill to provide for special enrollment periods during public health emergencies; Letter urging Congress to provide additional funds to the Provider Relief Fund and for vaccine distribution and administration, which will allow for continued support of hospitals' COVID-19-related lost revenues, as well as additional expenses incurred due to purchasing supplies and equipment, staffing, establishing emergency testing and vaccination centers and constructing and retrofitting facilities; Support H.R. 708 and S. 168, Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act, a bill to provide temporary licensing reciprocity for telehealth and interstate health care treatment; Support H.R. 1306 and S. 412, National Coronavirus Commission Act of 2021, a bill to establish the Commission on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the United States; Support S. 610, Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, a bill to address behavioral health and well-being among health care professionals; Support S. 773 a bill to enable certain hospitals that were participating in or applied for the drug discount program under section 340B of the Public Health Service Act prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency to temporarily maintain eligibility for such program; Support S.834, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the distribution of additional residency positions; Oppose H.R. 1195, Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, a bill to direct the Secretary of Labor to issue an occupational safety and health standard that requires covered employers within the health care and social service industries to develop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan and urge the Committee on Education and Labor not to report it favorably; Support S.924 and H.R. 2130, Rural America Health Corps Act, a bill to establish a demonstration program to provide payments on eligible loans for individuals who are eligible for the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program; Discussions with ASPR about COVID-19 related medical supply and personnel shortages; Discussions with FEMA about COVID-19 public assistance funding policies.

Contacted: Office of Management & Budget (OMB); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; White House Office; Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); SENATE; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS)

Bills named: H.R. 2130 (117th), S. 924 (117th), H.R. 526 (117th), S. 834 (117th), S. 168 (117th), S. 610 (117th), H.R. 708 (117th), S. 773 (117th), H.R. 1306 (117th), S. 412 (117th), H.R. 1195 (117th)

Medicare/Medicaid MMM

Support H.R. 315,Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act, a bill to amend the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to extend the temporary suspension of Medicare sequestration; Support H.R. 1332 and S.368,Telehealth Modernization Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program related to the COVID-19 public health emergency; Letter opposing CMS interim final rule establishing a Most Favored Nation model and urging the agency to withdraw it immediately and replace it with a serious effort at drug pricing reform; Letter urging CMS to rescind its denial determinations for those hospitals that submitted mid-build exception requests due to the agencys failure to meet the required statutory deadline; Discussion with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) about the Radiation Oncology Alternative Payment Model; Urged CMS to exercise enforcement discretion with respect to the hospital price transparency rule until the end of the public health emergency; Support H.R. 1868, a bill that, among other health care provisions, would eliminate the 2% across-the-board cut to all Medicare payments, known as sequestration, until the end of 2021.

Contacted: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); White House Office; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); SENATE

Bills named: H.R. 1868 (117th), H.R. 1332 (117th), S. 368 (117th), H.R. 315 (117th)

Budget/Appropriations BUD

Support HR 1319, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, This bill provides additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19 on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses and more money for the Provider Relief Fund in the reconciliation bill, sequester relief, and advanced Medicare payment loan relief.

Contacted: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA); SENATE; Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); White House Office; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS)

Bills named: H.R. 1319 (117th)