American Hospital Association

Hospital Groups Rally Against HHS’ Interpretation of DSH Payments Formula

February 9, 2024 - The American Hospital Association (AHA) and five other hospital groups are calling on the Supreme Court to challenge the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) interpretation of disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. Medicare reimbursement rates are often not high enough to cover all of the costs hospitals spend on patients,...


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Provider Groups Say Final Rule Will Relieve Prior Authorization Burdens

by Victoria Bailey

Provider groups are commending CMS for finalizing patient data-sharing policies and prior authorization requirements. The CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule requires Medicare...

Medicare Advantage Denials Jump 56%, Commercial Denials 20%

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Hospitals and health systems have seen a significant spike in claim denials as Medicare Advantage and commercial payers deny more of their reimbursement. A new analysis of data from over 1,300...

Non-Profit Hospitals Up Community Benefits to $130B

by Jacqueline LaPointe

A new analysis released by the American Hospital Association (AHA) shows increasing levels of community benefits provided by non-profit hospitals. Non-profit hospitals delivered nearly $130 billion in...

Healthcare Orgs Address Price Transparency, 340B Policies in OPPS

by Victoria Bailey

Hospital and specialty groups are urging CMS to amend aspects of the CY 2024 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule, including 340B Drug Pricing Program policies and price...

Provider Groups Oppose Proposed Payment Cuts in Physician Fee Schedule

by Victoria Bailey

Provider organizations have made it clear they are not happy with the payment cuts CMS proposed in the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). Additionally, groups have voiced concerns about...

AHA Opposes Proposed Payment Cuts for Home Health Providers

by Victoria Bailey

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is urging CMS to reconsider the payment cuts included in the CY 2024 Home Health Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule. Specifically, the trade...

AHA Calls for Easier On-Ramp for Bundled Payments, Episode-Based Payments

by Sara Heath

The American Hospital Association wants it to be easier for hospitals nationwide to begin adopting episode-based payment models, such as bundled payments, the trade association wrote in a recent letter...

AHA: Site-Neutral Payment Policies Hurt Hospitals

by Jacqueline LaPointe

As healthcare prices are put under the microscope, the American Hospital Association (AHA) is criticizing a cost-cutting method to reduce prices for outpatient services. The hospital group’s...

Nurses, Physicians Say Health Insurer Policies Restrict Access to Care

by Victoria Bailey

Nurses and physicians see health insurer policies as barriers to patient care, according to data from the American Hospital Association (AHA). Morning Consult conducted three surveys on behalf of AHA...

AHA Condemns FTC’s Unconstitutional Antitrust Enforcement Practices

by Victoria Bailey

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is urging an appeals court to prevent the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from breaking up a biotechnology acquisition, stating that the agency’s antitrust...

AHA Decries Inpatient Prospective Payment System Update

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The proposed market basket update in the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) for the 2024 fiscal year (FY) is “woefully inadequate,” according to the American Hospital Association...

AHA Makes Hospital Price Transparency Suggestions to Congress

by Jacqueline LaPointe

This week, the American Hospital Association (AHA) told Congress ways to improve hospital price transparency initiatives and compliance. The United States House Ways and Means Committee earlier this...

AHA: Financial Challenges Continue as Hospital Expenses Rise

by Victoria Bailey

The rising costs of care are creating persistent financial challenges for hospitals and health systems, with hospital expenses growing faster than Medicare reimbursement over the last four years,...

What Prior Authorization Changes in MA Final Rule Mean for Providers

by Victoria Bailey

CMS has released its 2024 Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Final Rule, which finalized policies on marketing oversight, prescription drugs, and prior authorization processes. Changes to prior authorization policies are particularly...

AHA, AHIP Urge Supreme Court to Uphold False Claims Act Ruling

by Victoria Bailey

The American Hospital Association (AHA) and AHIP have filed an amicus brief challenging the federal government’s interpretation of the False Claims Act, stating that it would adversely impact...

Hospitals Ask Lawmakers for Well-Being, Workplace Safety Support

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Hospitals and health systems are facing a staffing emergency, the American Hospital Association (AHA) said in response to a Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee Request for...

As Medicaid Unwinds, Hospitals Seek Relief from DSH Payment Cut

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Hospital and health system advocates are calling on lawmakers to stop an $8 billion cut to Medicaid Disproportionate Share (DSH) payments to safety-net hospitals. A letter sent to Congressional...

AHA Urges MedPAC to Consider Higher Medicare Payment Updates for 2024

by Victoria Bailey

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has asked the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to consider higher Medicare payment updates before issuing its final recommendations, including...

AHA: Delayed Discharges Led to 19% Increase in Patient Length of Stay

by Victoria Bailey

The average patient length of stay in hospitals has increased by 19.2 percent in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to an issue brief from the American Hospital Association...