MHA works in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA), LeadingAge, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice to represent the interests of our members in Washington, D.C. MHA keeps Montana’s congressional delegation and other federal policymakers informed by providing analysis of federal health policies and the impact on Montana’s rural providers.

MHA’s federal advocacy agenda includes a variety of issues affecting Medicare, Medicaid, health information technology, workforce development and Indian Health Services. Key issues include:

• Preservation of provider fees as a mechanism for helping to adequately finance the Medicaid program.
• Preservation of critical access hospital status and reimbursement rates.
• Overturning policies – such as the 96-hour physician certification and direct supervision rules – that threaten access in rural and frontier communities.
• Minimizing the impact of budget deficit reductions on health care providers and identifying alternatives to provider payment cuts to achieve budget savings.
• Seeking repeal and replacement of the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula for reimbursing physicians and ensuring that the cost of this fix is not borne by other healthcare providers.
• Support for public policies that spur development of efficient and cost-effective financing and delivery systems.
• Development of clinical and health information technology (HIT) that sustains and improves quality of care and patient safety.
• Public policies that strengthen provider-hospital relationships, alignment and clinical integration and access to physician and nurse practitioner services.