Health care leaders meet with Congressman Nunn
Health care representatives including hospital leaders, physical therapists, pharmacists, optometrists, nursing facilities and members of AARP attended a roundtable hosted by U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn. He used the opportunity to gather information for his legislative priorities. Rep. Nunn sits on the House Committee on Agriculture and will be working on the 2023 Farm Bill, which may provide an opportunity to address workforce issues.

IHA staff and members attended the roundtable and discussed the 340B drug pricing program, hospital and rural health clinic payments, workforce issues, the 96-hour rule, continuing waivers after the public health emergency ends and telehealth payment parity.

IHA thanks Rep. Nunn for meeting with health care leaders and his support for Iowa hospitals.

Grassley introduces Rural Hospital Support Act
Sen. Charles Grassley and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) have introduced IHA-supported legislation to aid small rural hospitals. The Rural Hospital Support Act (S. 1110) makes permanent the Medicare-dependent hospital program and enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment for small rural prospective payment hospitals. The bill also allows Medicare-dependent hospitals and sole community hospitals to choose an additional base year when calculating their payments.

“These extender programs have an enormous financial impact on Iowa hospitals by providing funding for essential services and for hospitals to remain viable,” said IHA  President and CEO Chris Mitchell. “The programs also allow hospitals to contribute to their communities through improvements to access to care, employing members of the community and using services from community businesses, both inside and outside the health care sector. IHA is pleased to see Sen. Grassley work on this important issue.”

Sen. Grassley was instrumental in getting language added to the omnibus appropriations bill that passed last December, extending these programs through September 2024. IHA is thankful for his continued work supporting Iowa hospitals and communities.

Register for fundraising professionals spring conference
Hospital foundation fundraising provides important community support, especially for small hospitals. The 2023 Foundation Professionals for Iowa Hospitals Spring Conference provides an interactive, daylong event that will equip foundation professionals with the tools and strategies to create successful campaigns.

Participants will learn about:

• Aligning their hospitals' missions and purposes with fundraising campaigns.
• Marketing their fundraising campaigns.
• Researching donors.
• Using technology, including social media, to raise money.

Participants also will hear an update about IHA’s legislative priorities and network with other foundation professionals.

ServiShare and Health Enterprises Co-op announce new partnership

ServiShare and Health Enterprises Co-op (HEc), the group-purchasing arm of Health Enterprises, have announced they are forming a new partnership. The first phase of this partnership will entail ServiShare designating HEc as a preferred exclusive partner for its group-purchasing organization contracts and services to its members.

This partnership is an alignment between two organizations with common missions in supporting Iowa hospitals. HEc’s group-purchasing organization contract portfolio will give ServiShare members access to best-in-class pricing coupled with HEc’s renowned customer service, helping them manage costs more effectively.

The new relation between ServiShare and HEc is just the first step. As the partnership evolves, additional programs will be introduced to bring more value to the members of ServiShare and HEc.