American Hospital Association

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a national organization representing hospitals, health systems, and care providers across the United States. Founded in 1898, AHA serves as the primary advocacy body for its members before Congress and regulatory agencies, addressing policy issues including healthcare affordability, workforce challenges, and cybersecurity threats.

The organization provides a range of services including governance consulting, rural health support, cybersecurity advisory, and innovation programs through its Center for Health Innovation. AHA produces regular research publications including the Environmental Scan and Workforce Scan, hosts annual conferences including the Rural Health Care Leadership Conference and Annual Membership Meeting, and publishes Market Scan insights on emerging healthcare trends. The association also operates specialized programs such as the Next Generation Leaders Fellowship and Trustee Insights for hospital boards.

AHA maintains strong focus on rural health systems, clinical care advancement, and telling the hospital story to communities. The organization provides legislative advisories, testimony before Congress, and coordinates advocacy campaigns on behalf of member institutions.

Hospital and health system leaders choose AHA when they need unified national advocacy on policy issues affecting their operations, access to peer networks for sharing best practices, and authoritative research on industry trends. The organization excels in translating complex federal regulations into actionable guidance and providing forums for collaborative problem-solving among healthcare executives.

Organizations can expect regular communications on legislative developments, invitations to educational conferences, access to toolkits and advisories on compliance topics, and opportunities to participate in working groups addressing specific challenges like workforce shortages or cybersecurity threats.

AHA exclusively serves the hospital and health system sector, with deep expertise in institutional healthcare delivery challenges. The organization maintains specialized programs addressing rural hospital sustainability, hospital-based behavioral health, maternal mortality reduction, and clinical continuity during cyber incidents. Members receive guidance on HIPAA compliance, price transparency requirements, emergency preparedness, and quality measurement programs specific to inpatient and acute care settings.

The association's advocacy work directly addresses Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, graduate medical education funding, 340B drug pricing, and other issues unique to hospital operations and financing.

The ideal AHA member is a U.S.-based hospital, health system, or critical access facility seeking national representation on policy matters, professional development opportunities for leadership teams, and research-based insights for strategic planning. Organizations navigating federal compliance requirements, rural access challenges, or governance maturation particularly benefit from membership.