AHA urges HHS to cut regulations that burden hospitals and staff

Editor's Note

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to eliminate or ease a variety of federal regulations, arguing that excessive administrative rules drive up costs, reduce patient access, and hinder innovation, Modern Healthcare reported May 13.

According to the article, the AHA submitted more than 100 deregulatory suggestions to HHS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Office of Management and Budget. The effort stems from President Trump’s Executive Order to reduce federal oversight and streamline operations across the government. In the letter, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said regulatory burdens play a significant role in limiting healthcare access and quality across the US

In the area of billing and payment, the AHA reiterated its opposition to mandatory CMS payment models—particularly the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM)—and urged the elimination of the independent dispute resolution process tied to the No Surprises Act, Modern Healthcare reports. The group emphasized maintaining protections against surprise billing while removing what it described as inefficient administrative mechanisms.

For quality and safety regulations, the AHA requested reforms to streamline reporting, which the group argues is redundant and outdated. According to the article, the association proposed eliminating ongoing COVID-19 hospital reporting requirements and replacing retrospective Medicare compliance audits with real-time, concurrent reviews. The letter noted that current reporting processes divert clinicians from patient care and require costly technology and staffing resources.

Workforce-related recommendations focused on expanding the roles of nurse practitioners and other advanced practice providers by relaxing federal scope-of-practice rules. As detailed in the article, the AHA also pushed for reforms to interdisciplinary care documentation, suggesting that current requirements for separate nursing care plans no longer reflect modern team-based care models.