The Federation of American Hospitals and the American Hospital Association appear to be in lockstep when it comes to legislation they would like enacted.
The FAH, which represents about 1,000 taxpaying hospitals in 46 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, wrote a letter to Congress on Oct. 24 urging it to take action before the end of 2022 on key issues challenging the healthcare industry. The areas it outlines are similar to those highlighted in a letter sent to lawmakers by the AHA on the same day.
The FAH urged Congress to renew programs designed to help fund rural hospitals, make Medicare reimbursements more closely align with inflationary pressures and pass legislation ensuring better care for older adults through Medicare Advantage. Like the AHA, the federation also asked Congress to forgo a possible 4 percent cut to Medicare payments under the pending Pay-As-You-Go rule.
The FAH letter, written by President and CEO Charles Kahn, also outlined initiatives it would like to see in the areas of telehealth, pandemic preparedness and behavioral health.
Read the full Federation of American Hospitals letter here.