Medicaid provides critical funding for essential hospitals. The joint role of the federal government and states in defining how Medicaid pays providers, and the funding of those payments, creates both opportunities and tremendous complexity. This session described the fundamentals of the federal, state, and local roles in Medicaid funding and payments.
Speaker(s):
Sarah Mutinsky, JD, MPH
Founding Senior Advisor, Eyman Associates
Washington Counsel, America’s Essential Hospitals
The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) brought important temporary changes to the Medicaid program, including a requirement that states keep Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in coverage for the duration of the PHE as a condition of receiving a 6.2 percent Federal Medical Assistance Percentage increase. The end of the PHE will bring significant considerations for providers, beneficiaries, and states. Attendees learned how essential hospitals can prepare for the end of Medicaid policies attached to the PHE.
Speaker(s):
Jill Hayden
Director
Sellers Dorsey
Leesa Allen
Director
Sellers Dorsey
The COVID-19 public health emergency has led to significant burnout among the health care workforce, including at essential hospitals. Attendees learned about recent state policy initiatives to mitigate current and future workforce challenges, and hear how essential hospitals are responding.
Speaker(s):
Erin O’Malley
Senior Director of Policy
America’s Essential Hospitals
Bill Ryan
Vice President, Government Relations and Public Affairs
Einstein Healthcare Network
Essential hospitals are leaders in advancing equitable care for all. As policymakers look to advance equity, numerous efforts are underway to define and measure equity at the hospital level. Attendees explored recent federal efforts to develop and implement equity measures, and discover how essential hospitals demonstrate their commitment to equity.
Speaker(s):
Maryellen Guinan, Esq.
Policy Manager
America’s Essential Hospitals
Thea James, MD
Vice President of Mission and Associate Chief Medical Officer
Boston Medical Center
Impending physician shortages, particularly in marginalized communities, make the growth of medical residency programs critical to the future health of our country. In late 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized several new Medicare graduate medical education policies implementing provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. These new policies included an application process for the distribution of 1,000 new residency slots during a five-year period. This session explored these recent policy developments of interest to essential hospitals.
Presenter:
Shahid Zaman, Esq.
Policy Manager
America’s Essential Hospitals
Sessions focused on solutions to current public policy and financial issues unique to essential hospitals. Past topics have included Medicaid supplemental payments, waiver initiatives, telehealth policy, graduate medical education, and state-level 340B Drug Pricing Program policies.
Sessions showcased new and promising programs that demonstrate groundbreaking initiatives in caring for vulnerable populations and ensuring equitable access to high-value care. Sessions focused on innovative programs that integrate clinical practice into the health system’s overarching mission and goals, quality improvement, managing operations during a pandemic or other public health threat, and patient-centered care.
Sessions targeted the hard and soft skills necessary to lead complex and evolving hospitals and health systems dedicated to serving their communities. Sessions focused on lessons learned from leadership experiences and the importance of strategic partnerships, combating structural racism, culture change, reducing employee burnout, and climate resilience.
Sessions offered expertise on improving the health outcomes for a group of individuals by engaging internal and external stakeholders to serve community needs. Sessions may focus on leveraging policies and procedures at the hospital, local, state, and federal levels to support community well-being; innovative financing models; cross-sector partnerships; and aligning community benefit investment with population health efforts. Programs and practices that address social determinants of health and ultimately aim to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care were highlighted.
Questions?
Contact us at events@essentialhospitals.org
America’s Essential Hospitals
401 Ninth St. NW, Suite 900,
Washington, DC 20004
202.585.0100