The Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals has written to the Senate Finance Committee in response to that committee’s “Health Coverage That Works for Everyone” request for information.

Noting that the nation’s community safety-net hospitals serve communities across the country and provide essential services to patients regardless of payer status or ability to pay, ASH explains that these hospitals see firsthand how federal coverage, payment, and insurer policies affect access to care in urban, rural, and underserved communities and that this experience underscores the importance of protecting Medicaid coverage, sustaining adequate provider funding, and ensuring that public and private health plans administer benefits fairly and efficiently.

In its response to the committee’s RFI, ASH urges Congress to reverse the coverage losses of last year’s budget reconciliation bill – H.R. 1 – and preserve provider capacity by restoring and safeguarding coverage and preserving state Medicaid financing tools such as Medicaid state directed payments and provider taxes; set enforceable prior authorization standards and hold payers accountable those standards while also requiring prompt payment and fair claims practices; ensure that health plans’ provider networks deliver meaningful access to care for those plans’ members; and require transparency and accountability across health coverage programs.

Learn more from ASH’s letter to the Senate Finance Committee in response to that committee’s “Health Coverage That Works for Everyone” RFI.