Fishman Tapped As AHA's Senior Vice President For Public Policy Analysis And Development, USA

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 15 Jul 2008 - 14:00 PDT

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The American Hospital Association (AHA) named Linda E. Fishman senior vice president for public policy analysis and development for the national association representing America's hospitals.

In her new post, Fishman will lead the AHA in developing public policy positions and serve as a member of the association's executive management team. She also will play a central role in developing and implementing the association's advocacy agenda and educating policymakers and hospitals about the implication that legislation and regulations have on hospitals and the patients they serve.

"Linda is highly respected with policymakers and hospitals alike-she is a credible voice on national health policy matters for America's hospitals," said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. "Linda's great depth and breadth of health care policy, legislative and political experience has served our field well and she'll continue to do so in her new role."

Since 2006, Fishman has served as AHA's vice president for legislative affairs where she managed the daily activities of the association's legislative team. Before joining the AHA, Fishman served as the director of the Office of Legislation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) where she managed nearly 45 employees in representing the agency's policy positions on Medicare and Medicaid to Congress.

Well known in health care policy circles, Fishman also served in staff leadership positions for the Senate Finance and the House Ways and Means committees, and as a senior advisor to the CMS Administrator. Fishman was a key contributor to three major pieces of Medicare legislation: the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 when she was chief health aide to Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), the Balanced Budget Refinement Act (BBRA) of 1999 and the Medicare, Medicaid, and S-CHIP Benefits and Improvement and Protection Act (BIPA) of 2000 when she served as professional staff to then-Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA).

Earlier, Fishman was a senior advisor at Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P. From 1987 to 1999, Fishman held several positions with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). A Cleveland-native, Fishman holds a bachelors degree and masters of business administration from the University of Washington and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

In her new position, Fishman will report to Rick Pollack, AHA's executive vice president for Advocacy and Public Policy.

About AHA

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which includes 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 37,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends.

American Hospital Association