ModernizeHealthcareAccess

Outdated Rules Are Impeding Healthcare Innovation

Healthcare should be as seamless and accessible as any other part of our lives, but outdated regulations are making that difficult—for patients, providers, and the entire system.

In most industries, we expect technology to simplify our experiences. But in healthcare, a law written when fax machines were cutting-edge fails to distinguish between illicit referral practices and legitimate digital tools and information services that empower patients to find care. This lack of clarity makes it harder to bring new technology to healthcare, leaving patients and providers stuck with inefficiencies and poor experiences.

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patients

For Patients:

Long Waits and Higher Costs

Getting the right care at the right time is essential, but delays make that challenging. The average wait time to see a primary care doctor is 26 days, and that number keeps growing. These gaps in care often push patients toward emergency rooms, where visits cost 12 times more than a standard office appointment. In fact, 45% of ER visits happen because people couldn't get a timely primary care appointment.

providers

For Providers:

Waste of Scarce Resources in a Strained System

While patients wait weeks or months to access care, 20-30% of providers' appointments go unused due to last-minute cancellations and reschedules. We are systematically wasting our most scarce and valuable resource: providers' time, made worse at a moment when they are under more pressure than ever. Since 2020, 1 in 5 healthcare workers have left their jobs. These challenges put additional strain on hospitals, health systems, private practices, and community clinics.

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The Solution:

The Health
ACCESS Act

The Health ACCESS Act would provide clear guidelines that modernize decades-old regulations and remove the ambiguity that exists for digital health companies. This would allow patients and providers to use digital tools to make healthcare more accessible and efficient. More innovation in the space will help hospitals, health systems, community clinics, and independent practitioners improve access to care and make healthcare providers and the system on the whole more efficient.

What is the

The Health ACCESS Act?

The Health Accelerating Consumer’s Care by Expediting Self-Scheduling (ACCESS) Act is a bipartisan, bicameral bill that would establish a new safe harbor under the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). This would allow health information services to help federally funded beneficiaries find care more easily, without unnecessary legal uncertainty.


By modernizing these regulations, we can create a healthcare system that works better for everyone—helping patients get timely care and helping care organizations efficiently fill their schedules, maximizing their time and reducing waste.

Partners

  • Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery
  • Boston Medical Center
  • Brownsville Community Health Center (FQHC)
  • California Children's Hospital Association
  • California Hospital Association
  • Chronic Care Policy Alliance
  • Circle Medical
  • Corewell Health
  • Digital Health New York (DHNY)
  • GoHealth Urgent Care
  • Grow Therapy
  • Health Association of NYS (HANYS)
  • Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC)
  • Housing Works Community Healthcare (FQHC)
  • Illinois Hospital Association
  • Indiana University Health
  • Intermountain Health
  • LabFinder
  • Main Line Health
  • Manhattan Cardiology
  • Medical Office of Manhattan
  • Memorial Hermann Health System
  • Octave
  • SohoMD
  • Spring Branch Community Health Center (FQHC)
  • Stanford Children's Hospital
  • The Dermatology Specialists
  • Zocdoc

Thank you,
Champions

Senator Bill Cassidy

Senator Bill Cassidy
(R-LA)

“As a doctor, I am a firm believer that we should use the technology available to us to make accessing health care simpler.”

Senator Alex Padilla

Senator Alex Padilla
(D-CA)

“Every American deserves accessible physical and mental health care without having to jump through outdated hoops.”

Representative Blake Moore

Representative Blake Moore
(R-UT)

“The Health ACCESS Act will increase patients access to care by enhancing digital health platforms and allowing patients to better find health care services and schedule appointments.”

Representative Brad Schneider

Representative Brad Schneider
(D-IL)

“I am proud to introduce the Health ACCESS Act, which will make it easier to book medical appointments online for Medicare enrollees and other federal health care beneficiaries.”

Representative Nicole Malliotakis

Representative Nicole Malliotakis
(R-NY)

“In a post-pandemic world, it's critically important for Congress to find ways to modernize our healthcare system and champion innovation and efficiency.”

Representative Jimmy Panetta

Representative Jimmy Panetta
(D-CA)

“Regulatory ambiguity is holding back our health care system from innovating, digitizing, and improving care for patients.”

Get Involved

Health orgs

The Health Access Alliance is open to new members. If you are reaching out on behalf of a hospital, health system, FQHC, health tech innovator, patient advocacy org, trade association, etc. please get in touch through the form below.

Patients

The Health ACCESS Act will create a better, more accessible experience for the healthcare system’s most important stakeholder: patients. Write to your Congresspeople and Senators and let them know why you support the Health ACCESS Act. Take action below.