This week, providers and other stakeholders are coming out in force in asking legislators to protect Medicaid.
Ahead of an expected vote in the Senate on the "Big Beautiful Bill," the American Hospital Association has launched an ad urging Congress to protect access to hospital care.
The television ad does not mention Medicaid but asks Congress to protect care access "as it considers legislation that could have far-ranging negative consequences for patients, communities and hospitals across America."
The campaign includes digital ads and a TV ad that will run on broadcast and cable TV in Washington, D.C., as well as digital ads, the AHA said.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The Senate bill includes an estimated $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid through work requirements and additional eligibility verification, among other policies.
Republicans and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said they are looking to rein in waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid.
Hospitals and other stakeholders have said the bill would cause an estimated 16 million people to lose health insurance coverage, affecting hospital reimbursement and, according to Families USA, the financial solvency of rural hospitals.
The 30-second AHA television ad is a series of quick shots of hospital workers and patients. It begins with a woman, presumably a healthcare worker, driving on a rural road early in the morning, who says she leaves the house at 5:30 a.m., sometimes 6, and drives about 92 miles.
It then cuts to patients such as a young woman walking with a prosthetic leg, a child in a hospital bed, a mother holding twins and a man leaving the hospital in a wheelchair to cheers.
"The ad highlights how when every second counts, America's hospitals and health systems are there 24/7 to care for patients during all of life's moments," the AHA said.
"People count on us; now we're counting on you," the ad says. "Congress: Protect hospital care."
THE LARGER TREND
President Donald Trump has said he wants the bill passed before Congress recesses on Friday for the July 4 break.
Senators remain at odds over Medicaid funding, with conservatives wanting bigger budget cuts. The Senate also must reconcile its bill with the House version that passed in May.
On Tuesday, Trump told Senate Republicans through social media to lock themselves in a room, if necessary, to work out their differences and pass the megabill that will fund his second-term agenda, according to ABC News.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org