Stacey Hughes
AHA Executive Vice President
Articles
Access & Health Coverage, Making Healthcare More Affordable
Advocacy to Address Health Care Access and Affordability
In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Marc Boom, M.D., president and CEO of Houston Methodist and the 2026 AHA board chair, speaks with Stacey Hughes, executive vice president of government and public policy at the American Hospital Association, about the forces shaping health care affordability
Physician-owned Hospitals
Theories Don’t Replace Facts: Physician-owned Hospitals Cherry-pick Patients, Lead to Lower Quality and Less Access
For more than a decade, the Ethics in Patient Referrals Act, more commonly known as the “Stark Law,” has protected the Medicare program from unfettered growth in physician-owned facilities and further expanding their practices of selecting the healthiest and most profitable patients, driving up utilization, and deferring emergency services to publicly funded 911 services or general acute care hospitals when their patients need emergency care.
Access & Health Coverage, High Deductible Health Plans
AHA Statement on Proposed Rule on Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance
The AHA is pleased with the Administration’s proposal to protect consumers from skinny “health plans” that often fail them.
Physician Issues, Physician Self-Referral Law/Stark law, Physician-owned Hospitals
New Study Validates the Risks of Expanding Physician-owned Hospitals
A new study funded by Patient Rights Advocate adds to the evidence that physician-owned hospitals (POHs) are not comparable to or substitutes for full-service acute care hospitals.
Physician Self-Referral Law/Stark law, Physician-owned Hospitals
Physician-owned hospitals are bad for patients and communities
For decades, the Ethics in Patient Referrals Act (“Stark Law”) has protected the Medicare program, its beneficiaries and communities from the inherent conflict of interest created when physicians self-refer their patients to facilities and services they own.
340B Drug Pricing Program
New Report on 340B Misses the Mark
A new report from the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) once again tries to obfuscate the issue of sky-rocketing drug prices by choosing to blame hospitals rather than the drug companies who set the prices and enjoy double-digit profits at the expense of patients and the providers who serve them.