Resources

Consumer and Nonfinancial Healthcare Associations

  • FamiliesUSA:  Families USA is a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
  • Health Care for America Now: Health Care for America Now is a national grassroots campaign organizing millions of Americans to win a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all.
  • Kaiser Family Foundation:  The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the U.S., with a growing role in global health.

Healthcare Insurance and Business Associations

  • America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP):  America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is the national association representing nearly 1,300 member companies providing health insurance coverage to more than 200 million Americans. Our member companies offer medical insurance, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance, dental insurance, supplemental insurance, stop-loss insurance and reinsurance to consumers, employers and public purchasers.
  • American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME): AFSCME’s 1.6 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in hundreds of different occupations – from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers – AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families.
  • National Federation of Independent Business:  The National Federation of Independent Business is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals.

Providers of Health Services

  • American Health Care Association (AHCA):  is a non-profit federation of state health organizations, representing more than 10,000 nursing home, assisted living, developmentally-disabled, and subacute care providers that care for more than 1.5 million elderly and disabled individuals.
  • American Hospital Association: The American Hospital Association (AHA) is the national organization that represents and serves all types of hospitals, health care networks, and their patients and communities. Close to 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 37,000 individual members come together to form the AHA.
  • Federation of American Hospitals (FAH):  The Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) is the national representative of investor-owned and managed community hospitals and health systems throughout the United States.
  • Kaiser Network Daily Health Policy Report:  Kaisernetwork.org provides four daily online reports — summaries of news stories with links to the original articles and a fully searchable archive. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report and the Kaiser Health Disparities Report keep you in touch with legislative, political, legal, scientific, and business developments in each area. Issues include Medicare reform, Medicaid, patients’ rights, access, the uninsured, minority health, children’s health and health care advertising.
  • Kaiser First Edition:  Kaiser First Edition, available each weekday morning at 8:30, provides headlines and links to the day’s top stories and events.

Nonfinancial Healthcare Associations

  • American Medical Association (AMA):  The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional and public health issues.
  • Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA):  The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.
  • Physicians for a National Health Program:  Physicians for a National Health Program is a single issue organization advocating a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health program. PNHP has more than 15,000 members and chapters across the United States.

The U.S. Executive Branch

  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ):  The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (formerly known as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research), is a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services which supports research designed to improve the outcomes and quality of health care, reduce its costs, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to effective services. It sponsors, conducts, and disseminates research to help people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.
  • Centers for Medicaid and State Operations (CMS):  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid.
  • HealthReform.gov:  An official U.S. Government Web site managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
  • The White House Blog:  The official blog of the Whitehouse.
  • The White House on Healthcare Reform:  The White House agenda on healthcare reform. Click here for the A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America’s Promise budget by the Office of Management and Budget.
  • U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS):  The Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.
  • U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA):  The VA is a government-run military veteran benefit system that’s responsible for administering programs of veterans’ benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors.

U.S. Congress

  • U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs:  The standing Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning veterans. Jurisdiction includes medical care.
  • U.S. House Judiciary Committee:  U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, or (more commonly) the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement entities.
  • U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary:  The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (informally Senate Judiciary Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate, the upper house of the United States Congress.
  • U.S. Senate Finance Committee:  The U.S. Senate Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generally. It also concerns itself with health programs under the Social Security Act (notably Medicare and Medicaid) and health programs financed by a specific tax or trust fund.
  • U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee:  The Committee has a broad jurisdiction over the operation of the our country’s healthcare, schools, employment, and retirement programs.
  • U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging:  The United States Senate Special Committee has no legislative authority, but it studies issues related to older Americans, particularly Medicare and Social Security.