AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION for AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION

Medicare/Medicaid MMM

H.R.5378, Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, Issues related to site neutral payment cuts, hospital price transparency, unique health identifier, 340B Program; H.R. 3173 / S. 4532, Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care, all provisions; S.4350 / H.R. 8260, Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act of 2024, all provisions; H.R. 7623, Telehealth Modernization Act, Issues pertaining to Telehealth, Hospital at Home, Unique Health Identifier; S. 1110, the Rural Hospital Support Act, all provisions; H.R. 6430, Assistance for Rural Community Hospitals (ARCH)Act, all provisions; H. Jes Res 139 / S.J. Res 91 A, joint resolution for congressional disapproval of a rule relating to "Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting", All provisions; S. 2016/ H.R. 4189, The CONNECT for Health Act of 2023, specifically telehealth waivers, geographic restrictions, originating site requirements, in person requirement behavioral health, RHCs and FQHCs access; H.R. 1110, KEEP Telehealth Option Act, All provisions; H.R. 5541, the Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act, All provisions; HR 2389/ S. 1302, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2023, All provisions ; H.R. 977/S. 470, Patient Access to Higher Quality Care Act, all provisions; H.R. 4946, Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act of 2023, all provisions; H.R. 6033,Supporting Patient Education and Knowledge (SPEAK) Act of 2023all provisions; H.R. 1406, Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act, all provisions; DRAFT, DRAFT Clarifying that Rural Emergency Hospitals are eligible for Medicaid hospital reimbursement; DRAFT, DRAFT, Expanding services Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) are paid at the enhanced outpatient prospective payment system rate, allow eligibility for Small Rural Hospital improvement Grants; DRAFT, DRAFT, Issues pertaining to freestanding emergency departments; H.R. 1666, Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2023, All provisions; H. R. 8246, Second Chances for Rural Hospitals Act, Issues pertaining to expansion of physician-owned Rural Emergency Hospitals; Draft Bill, Issues pertaining to proposed changes to the Medicare Graduate Medical Education program and solutions to address workforce shortages in rural areas; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare Severity-Long Term Care-Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-LTC-DRGs) used as part of the LTCH prospective payment system (PPS), Feedback on Medicare Severity-Long Term Care-Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-LTC-DRGs) used as part of the LTCH prospective payment system (PPS); Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2026, Navigators and non-navigator assistance personnel working within hospitals and health systems to assist consumers; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Part C Utilization Management Annual Data Submission and Audit Protocol Data Request, Proposed Medicare Part C Utilization Management and data submission and audit protocol; Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Physician fee schedule payments, advanced alternative payment model (A-APM) incentives and Medicare Advantage (MA) network adequacy; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Affordable drugs, Medicare $2 Drug List Model request for information; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Changes to the Fiscal Year 2025 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Rates Due to Court Decision, Low Wage Index Policy changes due to recent court change; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare Transaction Facilitator and the Medicare drug negotiation program, Information collection request (ICR) regarding the Medicare Transaction Facilitator (MTF) and the Medicare drug negotiation program; Site Neutral Payments, Issues related to site neutral payment cuts for drug administration; Provider Reimbursements, Issues related to provider reimbursement, site neutral payment cuts, Medicare/Medicaid program funding, facility fees, DSH cuts; Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program, Medicaid DSH program; Health Plan Accountability, Issues specific to prior authorization, patient access to care, adequate provider networks, inappropriate denials, reducing account receivables, prompt pay and cost-based reimbursement for critical access hospitals under Medicare Advantage; Physician Payments, Issues pertaining to proposed solutions to improve MACRA, alternative payment models, mental health of workforce, scheduled physician reimbursement cuts for 2025, extension of Medicare's Advanced Alternative Payment Model (AAPM) incentive payments; Rural Hospitals, Issues pertaining to the sustainability of MDHS, CAHs, SCHs, REH's; National Provider Identifier (NPI), Unique identifiers for off-campus Hospital Outpatient Departments (HOPDs); Organ Transplant Final Rule, Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Final Rule, IOTA Model impact on hospitals.

Contacted: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC); SENATE; Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

Bills named: H.R. 2389 (118th), S. 2016 (118th), H.R. 7623 (118th), H.R. 1666 (118th), S.J.Res. 91 (118th), H.R. 8260 (118th), H.R. 3173 (118th), H.R. 4946 (118th), H.R. 6430 (118th), H.R. 5541 (118th), S. 470 (118th), S. 4532 (118th), S. 1302 (118th), H.R. 977 (118th), H.R. 6033 (118th), S. 4350 (118th), H.R. 1110 (118th), H.R. 1406 (118th), H.R. 4189 (118th), S. 1110 (118th), H.R. 8246 (118th), H.R. 5378 (118th)

Health Issues HCR

H.R. 2584/ S. 2768, the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act, all provisions; S. 3211/ H.R. 6205, Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, all provisions; S.665 / H.R. 4942, Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, all provisions; S 3679 / H.R. 7153, Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act, all provisions, S. 3770/ H.R. 7266, "The Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN Act)", all provisions; S. 1176 / H.R. 2663, Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, all provisions, Draft Bill , 340B SUSTAIN Act, all provisions, H.R. 7635, The 340B PATIENTS Act, all provisions; H.R.8574, the 340B Affording Care for Communities and Ensuring a Strong Safety-net (340B ACCESS) Act, all provisions; DRAFT Senate / H.R. 5804, Mental Health Infrastructure Improvement Act, all provisions; S. 5368, End Drug Shortages Act, all provisions, H.R. 10362 / S. 5493, To prohibit pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies from being under common ownership, and for other purposes, all provisions, H.R. 7379, Patient Matching And Transparency in Certified Health IT Act of 2024, all provisions; Health & Human Services (HHS), Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability (HTI-2), Interoperability, improve transparency and electronic access and exchange of electronic health records; Health & Human Services (HHS) & Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Telemedicine Waivers for Controlled Substances, Waiver flexibilities for prescribing controlled substances through telemedicine ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), IV Fluid Shortage Impact on Sepsis and Infection Care IV Fluid Shortage Impact on Sepsis and Infection Care; Medical Debt, Issues specific to medical debt incurred by patients and hospital billing and collection practices; Price Transparency, Issues related to hospital price transparency; Rural Health Care Access, Issues to protect access to rural health care; Tax-exempt status, Issues pertaining to not-for-profit hospitals' tax exempt status; Maternal Health and Child Health, Access to maternal and child health care and addressing related workforce shortages, conditions of participation (COP) and impact of recent payment rules; Behavioral Health, Issues related to expanding access to care and reducing regulatory barriers; Health Plan Accountability, Issues specific to prior authorization, patient access to care, adequate provider networks, inappropriate denials, reducing account receivables, prompt pay; Workforce, nurse staffing mandate, workforce development programs; Health Professions Diversity, National health service corps; centers of excellence; health careers opportunity programs; Hospital mergers and acquisitions, Issues pertaining to hospital consolidation, mergers an acquisition, physician practice acquisition; Physician Owned Hospitals Physician-owned hospitals; Supply Chain Issues, Baxter Plant / Hurricane Recovery, Issues pertaining to supply chain issues, IV Fluid Shortages, Baxter Plant, Hurricane Recovery, defense production act, national emergency declaration, Advanced Premium Tax Credits, Extension of Advanced Premium Tax Credits, Cyber Security & Resiliency, Issues pertaining to ongoing cyber risks to the health care field.

Contacted: Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS); Labor, Dept of (DOL); White House Office; SENATE; Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA); Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

Bills named: S. 2768 (118th), S. 3770 (118th), H.R. 2663 (118th), H.R. 8574 (118th), S. 3211 (118th), H.R. 7635 (118th), S. 665 (118th), H.R. 7153 (118th), H.R. 7379 (118th), H.R. 5804 (118th), S. 1176 (118th), H.R. 2584 (118th), S. 5493 (118th), H.R. 7266 (118th), H.R. 4942 (118th), H.R. 10362 (118th), S. 5368 (118th), H.R. 6205 (118th)

Budget/Appropriations BUD

Draft Bill, "Further Continuing Appropriations and Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025", Division A - Further Continuing Appropriations Act 2025, Division E, Health Provisions; Disaster Relief Funds, Additional funding for FEMAs Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) and ensuring hospitals are compensated for pandemic expenses.

Contacted: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; SENATE

Taxation/Internal Revenue Code TAX

Tax-exempt status, Issues pertaining to not-for-profit hospitals' tax exempt status and tax-exempt private activity bonds; Advanced Premium Tax Credits , Extension of Advanced Premium Tax Credits.

Contacted: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; SENATE