If Hospitals Suffer, Communities Suffer

In an ad this week in Washington-area publications (view ad), the AHA outlines five steps Congress can take now to ensure hospitals “remain a bedrock source of jobs and economic growth in America’s communities.” The economic crisis “is taking its toll on patients, communities and hospitals alike,” the ad states, urging Congress to rescind the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ payment cuts to teaching hospitals and halt pending cuts to Medicaid outpatient services through a moratorium.

The ad also encourages Congress to increase the federal matching rate for state Medicaid programs, ban self-referral to physician-owned hospitals, and protect employees’ defined benefit pension plans from the impact of the credit crisis. “If hospitals suffer, communities suffer,” the ad states, noting that hospitals directly employ more than 5 million people and support $1.9 trillion in economic activity.