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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 9, 2021
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515; jvanness@communityplans.net

FOURTEEN HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS COMMIT TO MANDATING COVID VACCINES

WASHINGTON—Today, a group of 14 health care organizations in and around Washington, D.C. issued a joint statement making COVID vaccination a condition of returning to work in their respective offices. The organizations agreeing to the mandate include trade associations, research organizations and advocacy groups.

The group considers the statement a baseline commitment for assuring employee safety and health, and leaves room for participating organizations to take stronger actions up to and including vaccine mandates as a condition of employment.

The statement reads:

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As health care organizations, the undersigned groups believe that preserving the public health is core to our missions. Accordingly, we commit to a requirement that all our employees receive a full course of COVID vaccination as a condition of returning to work in the office.

Given the sharp rise in cases and deaths in the U.S., and recognizing that most new cases and the overwhelming majority of deaths occur among the unvaccinated, our organizations believe that a vaccine mandate is the primary way to assure the health and safety of our colleagues, family, friends, and communities. We also strongly support strategies that embrace the full complement of available public health interventions, including masking, testing, and social distancing.

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AcademyHealth
America’s Essential Hospitals
AMCP
AMGA
ASHP
Association for Community Affiliated Plans
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Alliance of Community Health Plans
National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations
National Health Council
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
National Pharmaceutical Council
SNP Alliance
Society for Women’s Health Research

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About the Signatories.

AcademyHealth is the professional home and leading national organization for health services researchers, policymakers, and health care practitioners and stakeholders. Together with its members, AcademyHealth increases the understanding of methods and data used in the field, enhances the professional skills of researchers and research users, and expands awareness.

America’s Essential Hospitals is the leading champion for hospitals and health systems dedicated to high-quality care for all, including the most vulnerable. We support our 300 members with advocacy, policy development, research, and education. Communities depend on essential hospitals to provide specialized, lifesaving services; train the health care workforce; advance public health and health equity; and coordinate care. Essential hospitals innovate and adapt to lead the way to more effective and efficient care. Learn more at essentialhospitals.org.

AMCP is the professional association leading the way to help patients get the medications they need at a cost they can afford. AMCP’s diverse membership of pharmacists, physicians, nurses, biopharmaceutical professionals, and other stakeholders leverage their specialized expertise in clinical evidence and economics to optimize medication benefit design and population health management and help patients access cost-effective and safe medications and other drug therapies. AMCP members improve the lives of nearly 300 million Americans served by private and public health plans, pharmacy benefit management firms, and emerging care models. Visit www.amcp.org.

AMGA is a trade association leading the transformation of health care in America. Representing multispecialty medical groups and integrated systems of care, we advocate, educate, innovate, and empower our members to deliver the next level of high performance health. AMGA is the national voice promoting awareness of our members’ recognized excellence in the delivery of coordinated, high-quality, high-value care. More than 175,000 physicians practice in our member organizations, delivering care to one in three Americans.

ASHP is the collective voice of pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in hospitals, health systems, ambulatory clinics, and other healthcare settings spanning the full spectrum of medication use. The organization’s 58,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For 79 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists advance healthcare, visit ASHP’s website, ashp.org, or its consumer website, SafeMedication.com.

The Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) represents 78 health plans, which collectively provide health coverage to more than 20 million people. Safety Net Health Plans serve their members through Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Marketplace and other publicly-sponsored health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) is a 501c3 membership organization located in Washington, DC. ASPPH’s mission is to strengthen the capacity of our 132 member schools and programs by advancing leadership, excellence, and collaboration for academic public health. Our members are CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health as well as schools and programs in applicant status for CEPH-accreditation.

The Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) represents the nation’s top-performing non-profit health plans to improve affordability and outcomes in the health care system. ACHP member companies serve more than 23 million Americans in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Members are provider-aligned health organizations that provide high-quality coverage and care to tens of millions of Americans. They are leading the industry in practical, proven reforms around primary care delivery, value-based payment and data-driven systems improvement. Learn more at the ACHP website and follow us on Twitter for the latest health insights.

The National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), founded in 1927 as the National Council of State Pharmacy Association Executives, is dedicated to enhancing the success of state pharmacy associations in their efforts to advance the profession of pharmacy. NASPA’s membership is comprised of state pharmacy associations and over 70 other stakeholder organizations. NASPA promotes leadership, sharing, learning, and policy exchange among its members and pharmacy leaders nationwide.

Created by and for patient organizations 100 years ago, the National Health Council (NHC) brings diverse organizations together to forge consensus and drive patient-centered health policy. We promote increased access to affordable, high-value, sustainable health care. Made up of more than 140 national health- related organizations and businesses, the NHC’s core membership includes the nation’s leading patient organizations. Other members include health-related associations and nonprofit organizations including the provider, research, and family caregiver communities; and businesses representing biopharmaceutical, device, diagnostic, generic drug, and payer organizations.

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization is the nation’s first and largest membership organization for providers and professionals who care for people affected by serious and life-limiting illness. The organization is committed to improving and advancing the proven integrated, person-centered healthcare model that its members put into practice daily – one that provides patients and their loved ones with comfort, peace, and dignity during life’s most intimate and vulnerable experiences, while also addressing holistic health and the well-being of communities.

The National Pharmaceutical Council is a health policy research organization dedicated to the advancement of good evidence and science, and to fostering an environment in the United States that supports medical innovation. Founded in 1953 and supported by the nation’s major research-based pharmaceutical companies, NPC focuses on research development, information dissemination and education on the critical issues of evidence, innovation and the value of medicines for patients. For more information, visit www.npcnow.org and follow NPC on Twitter @npcnow.

The SNP Alliance is a national leadership organization dedicated to improving total quality and cost performance through specialized managed care, and advancing integration of health care for individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

The Society for Women’s Health Research is the national thought leader in promoting research on biological sex differences in disease and improving women’s health through science, policy, and education. Learn more at www.swhr.org.

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