BY John Hawkins, President and CEO, THA
Unbelievably – to me, at least – the second half of 2024 is upon us. We’re now less than six months from another session of the Texas Legislature that promises massive implications for hospitals and health care. And this month, our fight enters a new phase.
As I told you back in January, the Texas Hospital Association is spending the year correcting the record on anti-hospital narratives and misinformation, which – driven by the agenda of Big Insurance – made the Legislature’s 2023 session a difficult one for Texas hospitals. We’re also striving to reestablish our state’s foundational understanding of everything hospitals do for Texas – not just within their walls, but also in their surrounding communities.
This month, we’re putting that last objective front and center. On THA’s digital news source, The Scope, you’ll find a new article and accompanying video titled “Texas Hospitals: Invaluable – and Imperiled.” Both the story and video break down two important pieces of what the general public and policymakers should know about hospitals as we approach another key legislative session: The broad, well-quantified value of Texas hospitals, and the hindrances that threaten their success and the very existence of patient care in many communities.
I encourage everyone to read the story and watch the video. Unless you’re already deep in the trenches of health care policy and hospital economics, you’ll likely learn a few new facts about hospitals’ vitality and the headwinds that make it difficult for their operational health. Just for a taste:
- Hospitals in Texas, as of 2020, accounted for one of every 12 jobs in the state.
- Each dollar spent by Texas hospitals generates more than twice that in additional economic impact.
- Texas nonprofit hospitals provided nearly $2.4 billion in charity care in 2022, exceeding the obligations mandated by the most commonly used state standard by nearly $580 million.
- Administrative hassles for hospitals, such as insurers’ prior authorization requirements, don’t merely serve to delay or deny care, although that impact is bad enough. They also make up as much as 31% of overall health care spending.
Many more salient facts lie within these resources. Along with the new article and video, I’d also like to point you to our White Papers & Reports webpage. There, at the top of the page, you can check out our recently released explainer on the same subject, “The Value of Hospitals to the Community – and the Challenges They Face to Serve It.” You’ll also find 10 other new or updated white papers, covering relevant facts and Texas hospitals’ positions on hospital outpatient payments, charity care, vaccines, government rate-setting and more. If you’re an advocate for hospitals and health care who’s looking to help us make our case with lawmakers or policymakers, these explainers will give you a road map.
All these salvos are necessary because, unfortunately, we’ve seen the future in the immediate past. The major rhetorical battlegrounds that THA spent much of its artillery on during the 2023 legislative session – everything from the push to ban hospital outpatient payments to attacks on vaccines and public health – are certain to emerge as points of contention again in 2025.
With only half a year left now until a new session gavels in, THA members and our allies have plenty of groundwork left to lay. Help us highlight Texas hospitals’ role as the state’s lifeblood, what’s hampering their vitality, and how we can give them the best chance to thrive.