Rich Umbdenstock

All of the major hospital associations, including AHA, have argued since the outset that the requirement for individuals to buy health insurance – typically called the ‘individual mandate’ – is constitutional. We intend to file an amicus brief in the Supreme Court today reiterating that position. We believe the Supreme Court will uphold the individual mandate for compelling legal and humanitarian reasons.

The basic unavoidable fact is the lack of insurance coverage for millions substantially affects all Americans. Perhaps more than any other sector of the health care field, hospitals appreciate this sad fact every day. AHA just released new statistics on the amount of uncompensated care hospitals provided in 2010 – it was a staggering $39.3 billion. Most of that amount is accounted for by patients unable to pay for the care they received.

Some challengers have urged the Court to strike down the individual mandate because it could lead to a ‘broccoli’ mandate thereby allowing the government to force Americ

America’s hospitals strongly support health care reform, especially a much-needed expansion of health care coverage. That is why the field in July agreed to reductions of up to $155 billion in future hospital reimbursement in exchange for covering 97 percent of those legally residing in the country. But this latest proposal could overwhelm a financially shaky program seniors depend on and raise costs for the rest of us.

One key reason health care costs are higher for everyone is that Medicare does not pay its fair share of the cost of care. Reform should end this “cost shift” not make it worse. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) underscored this point last week, reporting that hospitals’ Medicare margins dropped from negative 6 percent in 2007 to an historic low of negative 7.2 percent in 2008. With Medicare making up about 40 percent of hospitals’ revenues – and for many hospitals, it is much more – this could significantly affect hospitals’ ability to provide the services communities depend on such as tr