MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - In July, U.S. lawmakers passed President Donald Trump's spending and tax plan known as the 'Big Beautiful Bill.'
The Alabama Hospital Association said they are still trying to determine what federal regulations and assistance will be in place under the new legislation.
"We're not really losing anything. We're kind of at status quo -- frozen at status quo," said Danne Howard, president and CEO of the Alabama Hospital Association. "What we did perhaps lose, or that's what we're waiting to find out, are the flexibilities that we had before to do a little bit better."
Howard said the Alabama Hospital Association was working on a plan to address the ongoing coverage gaps for Alabamians when the bill was passed. However, she said that plan depended on federal initiatives that are no longer available.
The 'Big Beautiful Bill' does have a section, the Rural Health Transformation Program, which sets aside $50 billion over the next five years to offset rural healthcare losses from other parts of the bill.
Howard said they do not know the exact impact that the funds will have on Alabama.
She said Alabama hospitals have the lowest reimbursement rate in the nation from all payer sources, including Medicaid, Medicare and commercial insurance.
"You can't continue, as your costs go up, to continue to receive the same or the lowest reimbursement and expect to be able to maintain it," said Howard.
Howard said Alabama hospitals have been struggling since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the state's hospitals will have to utilize resources better and pay providers better, among other measures, to prevent hospitals from eliminating services, laying off staff or potentially needing to close.
"I don't want to say that we're going to have a number of hospitals close because sometimes that might be over-said," she said. "We're doing everything we can to prevent those closures, that's pulling rabbits out of hats."
Howard said they are worried about health subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025 under the Affordable Care Act, which she said could impact around 200,000 Alabamians and put a strain on the state's healthcare system.
The Alabama Hospital Association said they were in contact with Alabama's congressional delegation throughout the process of passing the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' and that some concerns raised by the AHA were taken into consideration in the final version of the bill.