CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner and several American Hospital Association leaders shared sentiments during the AHA's annual meeting in Washington D.C., according to an AHA News Now report.
Ms. Tavenner said CMS, like AHA, wants to improve the overall healthcare delivery and said the government agency will work with hospitals to achieve that goal. But she acknowledged it will take time.
"You have my commitment to be flexible and listen and try to move at a pace that works for you, and I would ask for your commitment to be our partner as well," Ms. Tavenner said.
She also told AHA members CMS will soon issue a final rule on conditions of participation for hospitals and critical access hospitals.
Meanwhile, several hospital leaders who spoke at the AHA meeting — including AHA Chair Teri Fontenot and Executive Vice President Rick Pollack — discussed ways their peers can be united advocates for key legislative action, including extending Medicare provisions and enacting drug shortage laws. Mr. Pollack said hospital leaders need to prepare for the debate over deficit reduction that will likely come after the November elections, ensuring their voices get heard.
"We are organizations that employ more than 4 million people and touch the lives of millions of others," Mr. Pollack said. "Candidates need to know that we care and we vote."
The chair of the hospital association, Ms. Fontenant, urged members at the Washington meeting to stand united when addressing legislative concerns. In regards to a kind of healthcare paradox the nation is facing — a growing baby booming population and a bulging federal deficit — Ms. Fontenant gave her colleagues and either-or scenario to ponder.
"We can let the bureaucrats in Washington devise ways to balance these competing needs," she said, "or we can invest our time, energy, experience and intellect to work within the AHA and our partners in care to advance realistic, sustainable solutions that put patients first."
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Ms. Tavenner said CMS, like AHA, wants to improve the overall healthcare delivery and said the government agency will work with hospitals to achieve that goal. But she acknowledged it will take time.
"You have my commitment to be flexible and listen and try to move at a pace that works for you, and I would ask for your commitment to be our partner as well," Ms. Tavenner said.
She also told AHA members CMS will soon issue a final rule on conditions of participation for hospitals and critical access hospitals.
Meanwhile, several hospital leaders who spoke at the AHA meeting — including AHA Chair Teri Fontenot and Executive Vice President Rick Pollack — discussed ways their peers can be united advocates for key legislative action, including extending Medicare provisions and enacting drug shortage laws. Mr. Pollack said hospital leaders need to prepare for the debate over deficit reduction that will likely come after the November elections, ensuring their voices get heard.
"We are organizations that employ more than 4 million people and touch the lives of millions of others," Mr. Pollack said. "Candidates need to know that we care and we vote."
The chair of the hospital association, Ms. Fontenant, urged members at the Washington meeting to stand united when addressing legislative concerns. In regards to a kind of healthcare paradox the nation is facing — a growing baby booming population and a bulging federal deficit — Ms. Fontenant gave her colleagues and either-or scenario to ponder.
"We can let the bureaucrats in Washington devise ways to balance these competing needs," she said, "or we can invest our time, energy, experience and intellect to work within the AHA and our partners in care to advance realistic, sustainable solutions that put patients first."
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