The trends and events shaping the future of healthcare show that the trend toward business as usual—the status quo—simply won’t cut it anymore.
The good news is that new thinking, a new focus, and a renewed determination to address the challenges in our field are happening on many fronts in ways that promise to help strengthen our future and protect patient access to care.
As part of that effort, we were pleased to share this week that the Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care, which for 24 years has fought to protect access to high-quality care for all Americans, will now be known as the Coalition to Strengthen America’s Health Care Healthcare: Protecting 24/7 care. The AHA is a founding member of the Coalition, which is currently supported by all national hospital associations, as well as allied associations and hospitals and health systems across the country.
The new name reflects its renewed focus on protecting and strengthening patient access to 24/7 care across the country.
The famous Shakespeare asked to enter Romeo and Juliet“What’s in a name?” The answer is: it’s more than just changing the name, it’s expanding the intent behind it.
The rebranding campaign will support the Coalition’s expanded capacity as a proactive, always-on organization dedicated to positively shaping public perception of hospitals and health systems, neutralizing opposition attacks, and holding corporate payers accountable for their role in delaying and denying care. while increasing overall health care spending. These activities will complement and help strengthen all the efforts the AHA is making.
We are grateful to former AHA Board Chair Nancy Howell Agee, CEO of Carilion Clinic, which chairs the coalition, for her leadership of this important effort.
As Nancy notes, “The best way to support patients and communities across America is to support and strengthen America’s hospitals and health care systems. That’s why we’re renewing our focus and redoubling our efforts to protect and strengthen patient access to high-quality round-the-clock care.”
The coalition is a community of more than 2 million advocates dedicated to protecting and strengthening patient care in America’s hospitals. Through its efforts, which include grassroots advocacy, the Coalition has been very effective in protecting patient access to care. And as part of the rebrand and launch, the Coalition will increase its efforts to empower the community to speak up for the strong 24/7 hospital care they want and deserve.
You’ll also see the coalition execute comprehensive campaigns that use paid and earned media, digital, local and grassroots advocacy and research strategies to influence voters, stakeholders and policymakers.
Hospitals and health systems are the foundation of our entire health care system. A strong, healthy future for the American people requires strong, healthy hospitals and health systems.
Please take a few minutes to learn more about the coalition and how you, your organization, and your community can get involved. We will continue to share information about the Coalition’s activities and appreciate your continued support in our collective efforts to improve health in America.
PS
I wanted to say that history—both short-term and long-term—continues to be written about the cyber attack against Change Healthcare. There will be many lessons learned, but one key observation so far is that as the government looks at cybersecurity in healthcare and hospitals, they need to make sure they address the key area of vulnerability: the third-party vendors that have been the source of many recent penetrations.
Another area of research is the deep tentacles that UnitedHealth Group has in our health care system. According to the Wall Street Journal, UHG is now the subject of a Justice Department antitrust investigation unrelated to the cyberattack. You may recall that the AHA opposed the Change merger in the first place and worked to get the DOJ to challenge it, but they lost in court.
Stay up to date with Change Healthcare’s cyber attack by visiting our webpage.