Post-acute care leaders brief Congress on need for regulatory relief

Post-acute care providers play an essential role in new care delivery models, but relief from burdensome regulations is needed so they can continue innovations that bring value to patients, a panel of post-acute leaders told congressional staff today at an AHA-sponsored briefing on Capitol Hill. Bill Altman, executive vice president for strategy, policy and integrated care at Kindred Healthcare in Louisville, KY, said it’s imperative to “remove some of the barriers around information sharing, clinical integration and other fee-for-service rules that really inhibit our ability” to move from a disintegrated system to an integrated system. Leaders from HealthSouth in Birmingham, AL, Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville, FL, and Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, NY, also participated in the briefing and shared examples of how their organizations are working to improve outcomes for patients and lower costs. AHA recently released a TrendWatch report offering guidance to post-acute providers and their partners as they evaluate new models of care delivery and payment.