The National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, to the newly created position of Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Siegel succeeds Christine Capito Burch, who is retiring from NAPH after serving 20 years as Executive Director.

The 140 safety net hospitals and health systems that make up NAPH's membership know that the historic vote March 21 by the House of Representatives will save lives and improve access for tens of millions of Americans all across the nation. Now, safety net hospitals and health systems should immediately begin to gear up for reform.

With the introduction of the House amendments to the Senate-passed bill, a realistic compromise has been put on the table. NAPH strongly urges Congress to pass this historic legislation without further delay.

As the recession continues to batter state budgets, uncompensated care costs soar and services like Medicaid remain targets for massive funding cuts though millions of Americans are joining the safety net programs.

Christine Capito Burch, Executive Director for the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH), announced that she will retire in mid-2010. The NAPH Executive Committee will engage in a national search for a successor.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NAPH and four other national hospital associations outlined concerns with the department's expected definitions of a "hospital" and "hospital-based physician," which will play important roles in determining eligibility for more than $17 billion in health IT funds supporting the meaningful use of electronic health records.

NAPH, Kaiser Permanente and the National Patient Safety Foundation today announced the “Patient Safety Initiative at America’s Public Hospitals.” This two-year program aims to enhance patient safety programs at public hospitals to ensure safe, high-quality care for vulnerable and low-income populations that depend on publicly supported health care institutions for medical care.

NAPH strongly supports the broad thrust of Chairman Baucus' outlined proposal. Like other stakeholders we look forward to working closely with the Finance Committee and the Congressional leadership on details that are of direct concern to NAPH members and the patients and communities they serve.

NAPH’s reaction to the President's health care speech September 9, 2009, delivered to a joint session of Congress.

The National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH) congratulates the three House Committees with jurisdiction over health care for producing comprehensive reform legislation. Safety net hospitals are committed to working with Congress and the Administration to achieve reform in 2009.

This morning, the American Hospital Association (AHA) and two other national associations (the Federation of American Hospitals and the Catholic Health Association) announced an agreement with the Senate Finance Committee and the Obama Administration to accept approximately $155 billion in reduced payments to hospitals over the next 10 years, in order to help finance health reform.

NAPH Releases Massachusetts Health Reform Paper