American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack is urging hospital leaders, community members and patients to ask their senators and representatives to stop Medicare payments cuts that are set to go into effect July 1 without congressional action.
"This will result in billions of dollars in cuts to hospitals as they contend with a multitude of challenges while they work to preserve access to care for patients and communities," Mr. Pollack said in a June 10 post on the association's website.
Mr. Pollack said those who reach out to their lawmakers should highlight that Medicare and Medicaid are the primary source of reimbursement for most hospitals, but the non-negotiable payments do not meet the real cost of providing care, nor allow hospitals to absorb or deflect the impact of historic inflation levels,
He said they should also highlight that higher costs for labor, drugs, supplies and equipment are compounding financial challenges. Labor expenses, which typically account for more than half of hospitals' total expenses, increased 19 percent per patient through 2021 compared to 2019, Mr. Pollack said.