The Federation of American Hospitals (FAH), founded in 1966, is the national representative of more than 1,000 tax-paying community hospitals and health systems throughout the United States. FAH members provide patients and communities with access to high-quality, affordable care in both urban and rural areas across 46 states, plus Washington, D.C and Puerto Rico. Our members include teaching, acute, inpatient rehabilitation, behavioral health, and long-term care hospitals and provide a wide range of inpatient, ambulatory, post-acute, emergency, children's, and cancer services. These tax-paying hospitals account for nearly 20% of U.S. hospitals and serve their communities proudly while providing high-quality health care to their patients.FAH provides a unique perspective to health care policymakers. We and our members are steadfast advocates of a market-based health care system, which benefits patients by continually providing high-quality, comprehensive care through innovation.Since its inception, FAH has worked diligently to provide the expertise and insight of its members to federal legislators and regulators, as well as to other stakeholders, the general public and the media.The Federation of American Hospitals serves its members as a clearinghouse for information about the nation's most vital health policy issues. These include Medicare and Medicaid, the uninsured, health care quality, patient safety, health information technology, medical liability insurance reform, rural health care, long-term hospital care, inpatient psychiatric care, hospital emergency preparedness, antitrust, compliance, the health care workforce shortage, privacy and confidentiality, tax issues, and rehabilitation services, among other important issues.