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ADVOCACY UPDATE:  Action Alert!

NEED ACTION FROM...   Hospital leaders
ACTION...Urge your representative to object to House
                        reform bill's hospital cuts
WHEN.....Immediately and during June 29-July 3 recess

HOUSE REFORM BILL CUTS BILLIONS FROM
PAYMENTS FOR HOSPITAL SERVICES
Urge your representative to reject proposed cuts


The hospital field supports true health care reform, but we must band together to fight cuts that are contained in the draft reform bill released by House leaders Friday. The cuts come in two major areas:

Permanent update cut: The draft bill proposes a permanent cut to Medicare's annual hospital Market Basket updates that we estimate could cut payments for hospital-based services by an estimated $150 billion or more over 10 years. The bill also includes an aggressive readmissions policy that would cut billions more.

Public plan paying Medicare rates: The draft proposes a public insurance plan that would pay Medicare rates for hospitals for the first two years. After that, the rates would be set by the HHS secretary … and we have no reason to believe those rates would surpass Medicare rates. With a fairly rapid phase-in, the public plan would eventually be available to all, potentially attracting millions more patients to a plan that continues the underpayment for hospital services. If rates continued at Medicare levels, an estimate by the private consulting firm Lewin shows, the plan could result in as much as $36 billion in annual lost revenues to hospitals.

Please see the fact sheet for more information on these two issues. And please contact your representative today. Also, take advantage of the upcoming June 29 - July 3 congressional recess to help your representative understand that hospitals are for true reform ... but arbitrarily cutting hospital payments does not help patients or communities.

(Call 1-877-242-2240 or e-mail AHAadvocacy@aha.org
to let us know how your Hill contacts go … thanks!)

ASHES 2010 Annual Conference
& Healthcare Marketplace
September 26 - 30, 2010
Gaylord  National Harbor
Washington, DC
metropolitan area

Purchase recordings from past conferences and view educational sessions online!

 

ASHES Live Learning Center - Educational recordings online that provide training opportunities for you and your Staff. Visit the ASHES Live Learning Center and access the educational digital media recordings, with audio fully synchronized to PowerPoints. Multiple topics and educational levels are available.