CMS should adopt payment policies that recognize the role played by essential hospitals, advocacy group America's Essential Hospitals said in a Sept. 11 letter.
AEH, which represents more than 300 hospitals sharing a "disproportionate" amount of the country's uncompensated care and where 75 percent of patients are either uninsured or on federal programs, said such hospitals play an outsized role in promoting and effecting improved health equity.
"To further the administration's and essential hospitals' shared goals of tackling health disparities and promoting health equity, it is imperative CMS recognize these hospitals when crafting Medicare payment and other policies," according to the letter, written by AEH President and CEO Bruce Siegel, MD.
CMS also should create a broader definition of what constitutes a safety net hospital to improve on what AEH describes currently as a "piecemeal approach."
More attention must be paid to ensure that 2024 payments reflect the effects of inflation and workforce costs, the letter said.
Read the full letter here.