For our health care providers and staff across UPHS, their primary commitment is to provide quality, compassionate care to our patients every day. While that is our mission and our focus, we do not practice in a vacuum. We also have the opportunity to share our experiences and expertise with lawmakers who are making critical policy decisions that don’t just impact the Health System, but directly affect patient care across the nation. Lawmakers come from many professions and walks of life, and have to weigh the diverse — and often competing — interests in their district or state. The reality is, as providers with front-line patient care experience, we have the unique ability to play an incredibly important role in our political process and governing. When health care policy is on the table, we have an obligation to share our lived experiences.
Speaking with one voice gives hospital associations, patient advocacy organizations, and medical, nursing, and other professional societies the ability to share that experience with lawmakers who are hearing different constituent views and opinions every day. Speaking with a unified voice is powerful and often necessary, especially in health care. Organizations like the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD), and the American Medical Association (AMA) are examples of advocacy groups. These groups represent important constituencies who have legitimate positions and a sincere interest in seeing policies enacted that allow them to effectively fulfill their mission and serve their patients.
The hospital community is, for the most part, represented by the AHA, the AAMC, and the respective state hospital associations, like the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) and the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA). These associations ensure our voice is heard in Washington, D.C. and state capitals across the country. Sound public policy in not enacted on its own. Our associations help ensure smart health care policies are adopted and our perspective from the front line of health care delivery is a part of the conversation. That is why they play an ever-important role, and why it is necessary that we work closely with those associations who may be aligned with our goals and priorities.
In Washington, D.C., Harrisburg, and Trenton, hospital associations work to help us increase access to care, protect and increase Medicare and Medicaid payments, improve quality and patient safety, and increase funding for biomedical and health services research. They also give us access to stronger advocacy tools to leverage the collective voice of the hospital community. Each week, America’s hospitals admit 11 million people, perform 520,000 surgeries, and deliver 77,000 babies. This gives the hospital community a powerful voice and helps us continue to innovate, and ultimately provide patients with the best possible care.
Given the depth and breadth of the government’s role in every aspect of health care, it is not surprising that there is a myriad of voices, some of whom are extremely influential, who expend a significant amount of resources to shape policy and to counsel elected and appointed government officials. This underscores the necessity of working together with associations who directly represent hospitals, physicians, nurses, and patients. Collectively our voice is stronger if we strategically partner with these groups.
The power of working with advocacy organizations has been proven and will continue to be tested. For example, in 2017, Congress actively considered proposals that would have ended the guarantee that patients with pre-existing conditions cannot be charged more for health care insurance. Working through our associations and patient advocacy groups together, we collectively convinced enough members of Congress to reject that devastating proposal. Earlier this month, the President released a budget proposal for FY 2020 that would slash Medicare payments that support graduate medical education. We will work alongside the AAMC, the AHA, and other organizations to oppose harmful cuts that would restrict our ability to care for our patients and to train new health care professionals. Policymakers are able to listen better to many voices speaking the same message.
Policymakers are confronted with incredibly varied decisions each and every day. They are pulled in several different directions. A member of Congress may have to vote on health care funding the same afternoon they also have to vote on an energy bill and education funding. There is no lawmaker who has front line experience in every policy area. Associations help provide that expertise by offering a consensus perspective, and play an important role in educating policymakers, as they proactively share relevant information on legislative and regulatory proposals. They also reach out to their respective members and solicit feedback on proposals to ensure the polices they advance will enable their members to effectively fulfill their missions. Throughout my time as CEO, I have been actively engaged in the associations that represent us. I have had the privilege to chair the Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems at the AAMC and serve in leadership and advisory capacities with the AHA. I have also encouraged my leadership team to be engaged in our associations. It is only through active involvement with our associations and effective partnerships that we will be able to leverage the collective voice of the health care community and successfully advocate for our priorities and the priorities of the patients and families we serve.