MHA Launches Healthy Hospitals. Healthy Communities. Brand Campaign ★
Your MHA Board of Trustees has been hard at work on your behalf, particularly over the past week at the Annual Board Retreat where they met to guide the Association’s strategic plan, organizational structure, governance, and progress. Much of the discussion was focused on payer accountability and the implications of the AHEAD model, particularly what is currently included in the agreement and what is yet to be negotiated.
Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott and Executive Director for the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission Jon Kromm reviewed some aspects of the 125-page AHEAD agreement. (The agreement was signed on Friday, see more details below.)
Board members raised important fieldwide issues with these state leaders including reinforcing recent comment letters around specific strategies to release excess savings to hospitals and continued to stress hospital priorities.
Liz Fowler, deputy administrator and director of the Innovation Center at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), joined in the discussion saying AHEAD is based on Maryland’s long history of successful rate setting. AHEAD’s scope and ambitious design further expand accountability to social needs and behavioral health.
Day 2 included a panel on the importance of industry-wide investment in good government. Acting Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) Commissioner Marie Grant discussed her new role and responded to questions about how payers can better support access to care across the state, particularly related to decreasing denials and building greater transparency into payer rate-setting processes. Acting Commissioner Grant encouraged hospitals to contact MIA’s 24/7 consumer and provider hotline at 1-800-492-6116 for medical necessity and emergency appeals.
Also covered at the retreat were legislative priorities for 2025, maternal health, and other Association priorities. There was an overview of upcoming communication campaigns including Healthy Hospitals. Healthy Communities., JoinMdHealth, and a new health care workplace violence awareness campaign that begins in December.
Thank you to all the Board members, and to each of you, for your feedback and direction. Listening to and understanding your needs helps us continue to make fieldwide progress and impact.
Best,
Melony G. Griffith
President & CEO