The Senate passed economic recovery legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1)

On 2/10/09: American Hospital Association (AHA) Vice President for Federal Relations, Tom Nickels said, "the task before us now is to ensure that it includes the health care related provision we've been advocating for". The current package does exclude a provision which would extend through June 30, 2009 a moratorium on six Medicaid rules and add a moratorium on the Medicaid rule for outpatient services. The AHA supports this moratorium which would allow Congress and the Obama administration more time to assess the changes to the state financing of Medicare and the negative consequence of this package for the vulnerable Medicaid population. AHA members can go to www.aha.org for more information.

Legislative proposal sent to Congress for action to alleviate economic pressures on hospitals:

In a legislative proposal ( go to site >> ) sent to Congress, the AHA again calls for swift action to alleviate the economic pressures threatening hospitals as a result of the recession. "This pressure, coupled with other payment pressures, is leading to a decline in hospitals' financial health at a time when demand for health care services is growing," the proposal states. In addition to temporarily increasing the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, the rate at which the federal government matches states' Medicaid expenditures, the AHA urges lawmakers to expand health coverage options for the recently unemployed; make technical amendments to the Pension Protection Act; increase funding to help hospitals adopt information technology; and improve hospitals' access to capital. The proposal also calls on Congress to reverse certain harmful Medicare and Medicaid regulations, ban self-referral to physician-owned hospitals, and expand funding to grow the supply of registered nurses. In a new ad ( go to site >> ) debuting today, the AHA encourages House members to sign a letter urging President-elect Obama to "maintain the economic health of America's hospitals" as he works with Congress to craft an economic recovery package. The letter is being circulated by Reps. Robert Brady (D-PA) and Joe Wilson (R-SC).

www.AHANews.com >>