Newsroom
America’s Essential Hospitals welcomes media inquiries about the association, its members, and policymaking that affects health care for vulnerable people. We can provide a national perspective on Medicaid and Medicare, the nation’s health care safety net, hospital quality improvement, research on care for the underserved, health care disparities, reform, and other topics.
Our staff experts are ready and able to answer your questions. We also can work with you to arrange interviews with leaders at our member hospitals and health systems. Let us help give your report a human face and local perspective.
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Media Contact
Carl Graziano
Senior Director of Communications
media@essentialhospitals.org
202.585.0102
Essential Hospitals Applaud Administration Support of 340B Program
Sept. 9, 2021 ||We thank the Biden Administration for strongly supporting the 340B Drug Pricing Program in its plan to tackle high drug prices, and we urge policymakers to dismantle barriers to affordable drugs that now threaten the program.
view more »America’s Essential Hospitals to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine for Employees
Sept. 2, 2021 ||America’s Essential Hospitals will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.
view more »Essential Hospitals Commit to Ensuring COVID-19 Vaccine Equity and Access
Sept. 1, 2021 ||Health systems representing 177 member hospitals have pledged to fight health care disparities by ensuring equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
view more »New Guide Shares Award-Winning Strategies to Improve Hospital Care
Aug. 18, 2021 ||The illustrated guide details quality, population health, and COVID-19 projects recognized for excellence and innovation in the annual Gage Awards program.
view more »Statement on Death of UF Health CEO and Essential Hospitals Champion
July 25, 2021 ||Leon Haley Jr., MD, MHSA, was a tireless advocate for patients and essential hospitals, and he contributed in countless ways to the mission and work of America’s Essential Hospitals and Essential Hospitals Institute.
view more »America’s Essential Hospitals Urges Members to Require Employee Vaccination
July 21, 2021 ||With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, spiking infection rates, and persistent gaps in vaccination that put millions of people at risk nationally, we urge our member hospitals to require vaccination for their employees, for their protection and the safety of patients.
view more »Statement on 2022 Medicare OPPS Proposed Rule
July 19, 2021 ||America’s Essential Hospitals expresses its disappointment with the administration’s decisions to stand by a bad policy on Part B drug payments and to continue damaging cuts to outpatient care.
view more »America’s Essential Hospitals, Voyce Announce Partnership to Expand Video Access to On-Demand, Real-Time Language Interpreters
July 7, 2021 ||The partnership with Voyce aligns with America’s Essential Hospitals’ long-standing and ongoing focus on social determinants of health, such as language and health literacy.
view more »America’s Essential Hospitals Welcomes New Board Leadership
July 1, 2021 ||New leaders for America’s Essential Hospitals and its research, education, and dissemination arm, Essential Hospitals Institute, today began their roles.
view more »Project to Help Essential Hospitals Reduce Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease
June 30, 2021 ||The project, supported by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, will fund up to three member hospitals to implement strategies to reduce cardiovascular disease disparities, provide technical assistance to grantees, and disseminate findings and lessons learned to hospital systems nationwide.
view more »Awards Recognize Hospitals for Improving Quality, Population Health, COVID-19 Care
June 24, 2021 ||America’s Essential Hospitals, whose more than 300 members care for low-income and other marginalized people, today honored 13 member hospitals for outstanding work to improve health care quality and population health and to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
view more »Supreme Court Ruling a Victory for Patients and Access to Care
June 17, 2021 ||Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a decisive victory for patients, hospitals, and all who believe no one, especially people of limited financial means, should go without access to affordable health care.
view more »Statement on Court Ruling in Challenge of 340B Requirements
June 16, 2021 ||We are disappointed by the U.S. District Court opinion denying the federal government’s motion to dismiss AstraZeneca’s challenge of 340B requirements.
view more »Statement on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Proposal
May 28, 2021 ||We welcome the administration’s desire to focus on social determinants of health, such as housing and education, and reduce health disparities. But we are disappointed to see the budget include policies from the previous administration that would undermine the value of the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
view more »Essential Hospitals Applaud Brooks-LaSure Confirmation
May 25, 2021 ||Brooks-LaSure takes the reins at CMS at a critical juncture for our nation, as COVID-19 and its lingering economic effects make access to health care coverage more important than ever. Her knowledge of, and experience with, Medicaid and Medicare make her well suited to meet these challenges.
view more »Essential Hospitals Praise HHS Action to Protect 340B for Underserved Communities
May 17, 2021 ||In letters to manufacturers, HHS makes a clear and forceful statement about the manufacturers’ illegal limits on access to 340B Drug Pricing Program discounts.
view more »New Data Show Essential Hospitals’ Limited Resources as Pandemic Began
May 17, 2021 ||The new data on essential hospitals comes in the association’s annual snapshot of its members, Essential Data: Our Hospitals, Our Patients.
view more »Statement on President’s Address to Joint Session of Congress
April 28, 2021 ||We applaud the president’s focus on equity and building a strong social safety net and his success combating COVID-19, and we urge the administration to ensure ongoing and sustainable support for Medicaid and hospitals’ infrastructure needs.
view more »Statement on FY 2022 Inpatient Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule
April 27, 2021 ||The association is pleased to see policy proposals to improve health care equity in graduate medical education and value-based payment programs and to withdraw burdensome Medicare Advantage data collection requirements.
view more »Statement on Senate Resolution to Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis
April 23, 2021 ||We applaud Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and his colleagues for recognizing the need to confront the influence of racism on the social determinants of health. Their resolution is part of the solution to achieving greater health equity.
view more »Statement on Verdict in Trial for Murder of George Floyd
April 20, 2021 ||As we reflect on today’s events, we look ahead to the opportunity to come together as a nation, acknowledge the structural and systemic challenges we still face, and continue the hard but necessary work of building a more just and equitable society.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank Congress for Voting to Stop Sequester Cut
April 13, 2021 ||Extending the Medicare sequester moratorium through the end of this year provides much-needed relief for essential hospitals, which continue to face heavy financial pressure from their front-line response to COVID-19, the association says.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank Administration for Actions on Racism, Health Equity
April 9, 2021 ||America’s Essential Hospitals thanks the Biden administration and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky for taking a strong stand on racism as a serious public health threat and for seeking to direct more investments at social determinants of health and mitigating health care disparities.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank House for Vote on Sequester, PAYGO Relief
March 19, 2021 ||Extending the Medicare sequester moratorium through year’s end and waiving the PAYGO cut later this year would provide needed relief for hospitals as they continue to face financial and resource constraints due to COVID-19.
view more »Essential Hospitals Applaud Becerra Confirmation
March 18, 2021 ||Xavier Becerra brings to the Department of Health and Human Services a strong record of accomplishments as a champion for health care coverage and equity. We welcome his experience and commitment to health care access as we continue the fight against COVID-19.
view more »Essential Hospitals Praise Withdrawal of Public Charge Rule
March 11, 2021 ||With the roll back of the rule, we must rebuild trust in immigrant communities through education and outreach to overcome fears that access to needed health care services could come at the cost of remaining in this country.
view more »Essential Hospitals Welcome COVID-19 Relief, Stress Ongoing Needs
March 10, 2021 ||Our members thank Congress and the Biden administration for making timely investments in the American Rescue Plan Act. As the fight against COVID-19 continues, we will continue to work with Congress to secure further support for essential hospitals in future legislation.
view more »Essential Hospitals Support Brooks-LaSure for CMS Administrator
Feb. 20, 2021 ||The nominee’s deep policy expertise in Medicaid and Medicare and her role in advancing coverage under the Affordable Care Act would bring valuable skills and leadership to CMS.
view more »Essential Hospitals Celebrate 40 Years as Champions of Safety Net
Feb. 16, 2021 ||The association today kicked off a celebration of its founding in 1981 as the National Association of Public Hospitals. It will mark the anniversary online with storytelling by people prominent in the association’s history, an interactive timeline, a video tribute, and other activities this year.
view more »Hospital Association Launches Second Phase of Climate Resiliency Work
Feb. 11, 2021 ||The work, part of a Kresge Foundation–supported project, follows a 2019 climate resiliency report from Essential Hospitals Institute, the association’s research entity.
view more »Essential Hospitals Praise Public Charge Review, Seek Reversal
Feb. 3, 2021 ||We thank President Joe Biden for his compassionate decision to ensure legal immigrants can participate in all the opportunities our country offers, including access to affordable health care for themselves and their families.
view more »Statement on President Biden’s COVID-19 National Strategy, Executive Orders
Jan. 21, 2021 ||America’s Essential Hospitals applauds President Biden’s swift pledge to fight the COVID-19 pandemic through a national strategy and executive orders.
view more »Statement on Political Giving Following Attack on U.S. Capitol
Jan. 15, 2021 ||Due to the events of Jan. 6 and discord surrounding the November elections, we have suspended contributions from our Essential Hospitals Political Action Committee to members of Congress who voted against certifying the results of a free and fair election.
view more »Withdrawal of MFAR the Right Decision for the Safety Net
Jan. 15, 2021 ||We thank the administration for recognizing the need to better analyze the proposed regulation’s potential effects. We cannot afford unintended consequences that harm the safety net — especially now, as we continue to battle COVID-19.
view more »CEO Message on Events at U.S. Capitol Building
Jan. 7, 2021 ||While the assault on the U.S. Capitol this week shocks and saddens us, it also deepens our resolve to have a voice in the hard work ahead to heal our nation and restore democratic norms.
view more »Statement on HHS General Counsel 340B Opinion
Dec. 30, 2020 ||The General Counsel’s advisory opinion makes clear that drug companies have run afoul of the law that created the 340B Drug Pricing Program and undermined its benefits to the safety net by denying discounts to contract pharmacies.
view more »Essential Hospitals Urge Quick Action on COVID-19, Funding Bill
Dec. 21, 2020 ||The legislation would avert disastrous Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payment cuts, bring additional relief from the heavy financial pressures of COVID-19, and establish important consumer protections for patients.
view more »Hospitals and Pharmacists File Lawsuit Over Drug Companies’ Refusals of 340B Discounts
Dec. 11, 2020 ||The groups have sued the Department of Health and Human Services over its failure to enforce program requirements and halt drug company actions that undermine the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank Congress for Medicaid DSH Cut Relief
Dec. 11, 2020 ||This $4 billion cut—a third of all program funding—would destabilize hospitals and threaten access to care as the nation confronts a rapidly escalating health care crisis. We now must turn to solutions that protect hospitals and their communities for the long term.
view more »Statement on President-elect Biden’s Health Care Leadership Nominations
Dec. 7, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals supports the nomination of Xavier Becerra as the next secretary of health and human services, and we applaud the incoming Biden administration for its other choices to lead key federal health care agencies and initiatives.
view more »Statement on OPPS, Physician Fee Schedule Final Rules
Dec. 2, 2020 ||The final rule takes critical resources away from hospitals and is especially harmful now as they strain under the heavy financial burden of COVID-19.
view more »Essential Hospitals Congratulate Biden, Harris for Historic Win
Nov. 7, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals applauds the commitment of President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President–Elect Kamala Harris to equity, social justice, and access to affordable, high-quality health care.
view more »Statement on House Passage of New HEROES Act
Oct. 1, 2020 ||Essential hospitals thank House leaders for recognizing in the legislation the ongoing needs of providers that form the backbone of the health care safety net and for taking additional steps to support their service to patients and communities.
view more »Statement on House Passage of Continuing Resolution
Sept. 22, 2020 ||Essential hospitals thank House lawmakers for responding to the heavy financial burden of COVID-19 on hospitals with bipartisan action to ease repayment terms for Medicare loans and further delay Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payment cuts.
view more »Essential Hospitals Praise Decision to Withdraw MFAR
Sept. 14, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals thanks the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for recognizing the potential for unintended consequences of its proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation and withdrawing this potentially damaging rule.
view more »America’s Essential Hospitals, Other Groups Release Patient Safety Action Plan
Sept. 14, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals and more than 20 other advocates and federal agencies today announced an action plan on patient safety. The plan recognizes that systemic racism and other societal inequities can cause harm to concentrate in certain populations, and it calls for using safety data to identify gaps related to social determinants of health.
view more »Hospital Association Honors Four Members for Quality Improvement, Population Health
Aug. 19, 2020 ||The Gage Awards honor creative and successful programs at essential hospitals that enhance patient care and meet community needs.
view more »Statement on Manufacturer Data Requests to 340B Covered Entities
Aug. 18, 2020 ||Recent actions by pharmaceutical manufacturers hinder access to affordable medications for millions of people who face financial hardships and defy clear statutory requirements that they provide drugs to 340B Drug Pricing Program covered entities.
view more »Statement on OPPS and Physician Fee Schedule Proposals
Aug. 4, 2020 ||The Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule takes a bad policy on Part B drug payments and makes it worse by digging an even deeper financial hole for essential hospitals and their vulnerable patients.
view more »America’s Essential Hospitals Announces Initiative on Structural Racism
July 22, 2020 ||The initiative is expected to produce recommendations that will form the foundation of a comprehensive, member-driven plan of action on structural racism.
view more »Essential Hospitals Mourn Loss of Champion for Equity and Affordable Care
July 18, 2020 ||Rep. John Lewis championed the mission-driven work of essential hospitals and steadfastly supported policies to safeguard their service to vulnerable patients, communities, and the health care safety net.
view more »Ruling on Outpatient Payment Cuts Jeopardizes Access to Care
July 17, 2020 ||The U.S. Court of Appeals decision allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to maintain its policy of deep cuts to payments for outpatient care, which will widen gaps in health care access in communities across the country.
view more »New COVID-19 Safety-Net Support Welcome as Crisis Deepens
July 10, 2020 ||We appreciate the administration’s efforts to correct earlier funding gaps that left many essential hospitals without the support they need; but there is more work to do.
view more »America’s Essential Hospitals Welcomes New Board Leadership
July 1, 2020 ||New chairs begin their tenures on the boards of America’s Essential Hospitals and its research, education, and dissemination arm, Essential Hospitals Institute, which also welcome several first-time member leaders.
view more »Nondiscrimination Policy Change Jeopardizes Health and Health Care Access
June 15, 2020 ||This policy change sets the nation back in its work to build greater equity in health care. Although no time would be right for this decision, it is especially harmful now, during the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency.
view more »Statement on Additional COVID-19 Aid for the Safety Net
June 9, 2020 ||Today’s announcement of $10 billion in additional funding for hospitals that provide safety-net care, as well as a future allocation of $10 billion for providers in COVID-19 hot spots, will help ease the financial pain this public health emergency has inflicted on these caregivers.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank Senators for Letter of Support
June 8, 2020 ||We thank Sens. Capito and Menendez, and their Senate colleagues, for their bipartisan efforts to target relief funding to hospitals caring for Medicaid and low-income patients.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank Lawmakers for Supporting Targeted COVID-19 Aid
June 3, 2020 ||We wholeheartedly agree with the leaders of the Senate Finance and House Energy and Commerce committees: Emergency aid allocations so far have disadvantaged essential hospitals, and new distributions must target hospitals that care for many Medicaid patients.
view more »Statement on Police-Involved Killings and Protests
June 3, 2020 ||Recent police-involved killings reflect a legacy of injustice and racism that also poses an urgent public health threat. It is incumbent upon health care professionals and systems to confront this and to overcome the inequities that afflict racial and ethnic minorities.
view more »Greater Challenges, Persistent Financial Pressures Confront Essential Hospitals
May 26, 2020 ||Findings from the association’s annual member survey show essential hospitals face high and growing uncompensated costs and care for patient groups that have suffered disproportionally during the COVID-19 pandemic.
view more »More COVID-19 Funding Must Come Quickly for Essential Hospitals
May 22, 2020 ||We are pleased to see new support for nursing homes, and we urge the administration to move rapidly toward more funding — especially for essential hospitals, which have seen less relief due to methods used to target previous allocations.
view more »HEROES Act Offers Welcome Support for Essential Hospitals
May 15, 2020 ||The HEROES Act would take important steps to support the safety-net mission of essential hospitals, which care for the disadvantaged people and underserved communities disproportionately harmed by COVID-19.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank House Members for Letter of Support
May 15, 2020 ||More than 90 House members sent a bipartisan letter to the administration calling for targeting of COVID-19 emergency funding to hospitals that serve large numbers of Medicaid and low-income patients.
view more »Essential Hospitals Urge CMS to Withdraw 340B Cost Survey
May 6, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals today called on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to immediately withdraw the agency’s survey on 340B Drug Pricing Program acquisition costs, saying it imposes an unnecessary and costly burden on hospitals as they battle COVID-19.
view more »New Hospital Funding Allotment Welcome, but More Support Needed
May 1, 2020 ||While this latest round of COVID-19 aid is a positive step, it will not meet the great needs of the essential hospitals on the front lines of this public health emergency.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank Congress for New COVID-19 Support
April 23, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals thanks Congress for this additional aid and the inclusion of demographic data reporting to help illuminate and respond to the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has on communities of color.
view more »Association Chief, Spouse Donate $100,000 to Essential Hospitals Institute
April 23, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals President and CEO Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, and his wife, pediatrician Maura Cooper, MD, have donated $100,000 to support efforts by the association’s research arm to help member hospitals and their communities respond to and recover from COVID-19.
view more »Essential Hospitals Welcome Targeting of CARES Act Funding
April 22, 2020 ||We thank the administration for hearing our concerns about how it targets Public Health and Social Services Fund funding and for directing additional dollars to hospitals bearing the heaviest burden of COVID-19 care and costs.
view more »HHS Must Move Quickly on Additional Funding That Targets the Safety Net
April 10, 2020 ||The department must ensure the next round of CARES Act funding targets hospitals disadvantaged by the formula used to allocate the initial $30 billion distribution.
view more »Hospital Fund Distribution Plan Could Disadvantage Hospitals in Greatest Need
April 7, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals is eager for the administration to distribute $30 billion in COVID-19 relief for hospitals but concerned by the allocation methodology, which could put some essential hospitals at a disadvantage.
view more »Statement on Third COVID-19 Stimulus Package Passage
March 26, 2020 ||With COVID-19 poised to overwhelm the nation’s health care infrastructure, the Senate vote on funding support is welcome and appreciated as hospital resources are stretched thin. We thank congressional leaders for recognizing the support our member hospitals need during this unprecedented crisis.
view more »Statement on UC Health Working Group Report
Feb. 24, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals believes the working group option to allow affiliations with appropriate controls will best support UC Health’s commitment to meeting the health care needs of all Californians.
view more »America’s Essential Hospitals Introduces 2020 Essential Women’s Leadership Academy Class
Feb. 19, 2020 ||The association welcomed its third and largest class to a novel program that aims to decrease gender disparities in hospital leadership.
view more »Statement on Ways and Means Surprise Billing Proposal
Feb. 11, 2020 ||The Consumer Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills Act of 2020 takes an important step toward a solution to surprise medical bills that protects patients and increases transparency without putting hospitals at a disadvantage in negotiations with insurers.
view more »America’s Essential Hospitals Fills Open Board Seats
Feb. 10, 2020 ||America’s Essential Hospitals has appointed two essential hospital leaders to fill at-large vacancies on the association’s board of directors.
view more »Association Warns of Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule’s ‘Devastating’ Impact
Jan. 31, 2020 ||The proposal would “cut at the very core of the Medicaid program by introducing unprecedented restrictions on states’ ability to fund their share of the Medicaid program,” America’s Essential Hospitals says.
view more »CMS Disappoints with Decision to Publish Flawed Star Ratings
Jan. 29, 2020 ||Health care consumers need accurate, relevant information to make the best care decisions; the current star ratings do not meet this need. The ratings rely on a methodology that fails to account for differences among hospitals and, therefore, could mislead rather than inform consumers.
view more »Court Decision on Public Charge Threatens Access to Care
Jan. 28, 2020 ||The U.S. Supreme Court decision will accelerate the rule’s chilling effect, causing people legally in this country to forgo medical treatment for fear of putting their immigration status at risk. This will increase costs for taxpayers and the entire health care system.
view more »New Resources Share Progress of Essential Hospitals toward Community-Integrated Care
Jan. 13, 2020 ||New research shows essential hospitals are building capacity for community-integrated health care — reaching outside their walls to partner with government, social services, and other sectors to improve social determinants of health.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank Congress for Supporting DSH Cut Delay
Dec. 17, 2019 ||Today’s House vote on a spending package and Senate support will avert the harm sure to result from a $4 billion payment cut for hospitals that care for millions of low-income people. Now, we must turn to longer-term relief for essential hospitals and their patients.
view more »Statement on Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019
Dec. 6, 2019 ||America’s Essential Hospitals is pleased to see that bipartisan Senate drug pricing legislation would repeal two years of Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payment cuts.
view more »Essential Hospitals Thank Congress for Further Medicaid DSH Cut Delay
Nov. 21, 2019 ||We thank House and Senate lawmakers for again standing with essential hospitals and vulnerable patients by delaying an unsustainable, damaging cut to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments.
view more »Administration Rule on Price Transparency a Threat to Access
Nov. 15, 2019 ||Rather than empower consumers with meaningful information, the administration’s plan only would give health plans an unfair advantage in negotiations with providers and put access to care at risk.
view more »New Report Documents State of Climate Resiliency at Essential Hospitals
Nov. 13, 2019 ||A new report from Essential Hospitals Institute shows that essential hospitals are taking steps to make themselves and their communities resilient to climate change and to reduce their own carbon footprint, but they face financial and other barriers to these goals.
view more »Transparency Proposal Would Undermine Care, State Flexibility
Nov. 12, 2019 ||The proposed regulation would undermine the financial stability of state Medicaid programs by restricting the flexibility states have to meet their commitment to vulnerable patients and avoid spending cutbacks that threaten access to care.
view more »2020 OPPS Rule Threatens Access to Care for Vulnerable
Nov. 1, 2019 ||The final rule jeopardizes access to care in underserved communities and flouts court rulings on unlawful federal policies regarding payments to hospitals in the 340B Drug Pricing Program and to provider-based outpatient departments.
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