FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement attributable to:
Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH
President and CEO
America’s Essential Hospitals
WASHINGTON — We thank congressional negotiators for supporting essential hospitals and their communities by agreeing to shore up the health care workforce, expand access to mental health and substance use disorder services, and extend flexibility for alternative care settings.
The omnibus would help essential hospitals and marginalized patients by extending telehealth and hospital-at-home flexibility. We also appreciate the bill’s provisions to increase graduate medical education slots for mental health care providers and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
While we are pleased the bill would avert the 4 percent Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) reduction and mitigate looming physician payment cuts, we are disappointed it lacks targeted funding for hospitals that serve a safety net role — essential hospitals. These hospitals continue to face immense financial pressure from high labor costs and workforce shortages and a surge in respiratory illnesses. We urge lawmakers to swiftly pass the omnibus and advance more support for the health care safety net.
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About America’s Essential Hospitals
America’s Essential Hospitals is the leading association and champion for hospitals dedicated to equitable, high-quality care for all, including those who face social and financial barriers to care. Since 1981, America’s Essential Hospitals has advanced policies and programs that promote health, health care access, and equity. We support our more than 300 members with advocacy, policy development, research, education, and leadership development. Communities depend on essential hospitals for care across the continuum, health care workforce training, research, public health and health equity, and other services. Essential hospitals innovate and adapt to lead all of health care toward better outcomes and value. Learn more at https://essentialhospitals.org.
Contact:
Carl Graziano
cgraziano@essentialhospitals.org
202.585.0102
Author