Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women Leaders
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2024
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
May 28, 2016 12:00 AM

From upstart to influence: FAH celebrates 50 years

Harris Meyer
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    From left, Chip Kahn, Tom Scully, longtime FAH board member Sylvia Ulrich and Mike Bromberg at the federation's 40th anniversary in 2006.

    During the 1970s and '80s, Mike Bromberg, then head of the Federation of American Hospitals, debated New England Journal of Medicine editor Dr. Arnold Relman nearly 30 times on the issue of for-profit hospitals' right to exist.

    That question now is firmly settled. Fifty years after it was founded—mostly by physician-owned hospital leaders who wanted a say in how the new Medicare program paid their facilities—the federation and the for-profit hospitals it represents have established themselves as respected members in the nation's healthcare system and an influential healthcare lobbying force in Washington.

    Chip Kahn, the CEO since 2001, boasts that his organization spearheaded a quality-of-care initiative that led to formation of the National Quality Forum. He also touts the federation's work with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association to support passage of the Affordable Care Act.

    Related Content

  • For-profit hospitals blaze separate path to efficiency, quality

  • See our By the Numbers page for a list of the largest for-profit hospital chains
  • “Chip played an extraordinarily effective role helping us bring together many key healthcare stakeholders with diverse points of view to promote meaningful expansion of coverage for tens of millions of people,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a key leader in the push to pass the ACA.

    “The federation historically has done a very good job representing investor-owned hospitals and improving relationships with nonprofit colleagues through collaboration with the AHA,” said Milton Johnson, chairman and CEO of HCA, the largest of the federation's 12 member companies. He noted that last year, HCA's chief medical officer, Dr. Jonathan Perlin, became the first for-profit hospital executive to serve as AHA board chairman.

    Jeff Goldsmith, a national adviser to Navigant Healthcare, said the federation has had “stellar” leaders in Bromberg, Thomas Scully and Kahn, who have been widely seen as “exceptional advocates.”

    Kahn said the federation will have its hands full after the November elections protecting and improving the ACA's coverage expansions. “One would have hoped it would have been a settled issue by now,” he said.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Dollar sign money
    Local Infusion scores $10M in funding, plans expansion
    handshake deal
    More academic partnerships to come, despite financial hurdles
    Most Popular
    1
    How the No Surprises Act changed strategy at staffing companies
    2
    As hospital expenses rise, charity care spending falls
    3
    Health insurers are still denying claims despite breaking state laws
    4
    What highly recommended hospitals have in common
    5
    Marketing limits could shake up Medicare Advantage market
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women Leaders
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2024
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing