Champion Access to Care For All

Diverse communities with varying geographical and socioeconomic factors face unique health challenges and growing disparities in care. The ACC is committed to supporting education and awareness among populations disproportionately affected by cardiovascular conditions, providing actionable data and tools to address health disparities and advancing policies to distribute critical research funding.

  • 200,000 patients*

    suffer avoidable PAD-related amputations every year
    *National Institutes of Health

  • 30% lower access*

    to specialists in rural areas
    *National Rural Health Association

ACC in Action

  • ACC's Wisconsin Chapter hosted a lobby day to advocate for policies to increase access to AEDs, streamline prior authorization processes and improve access to calcium scoring tests.
  • ACC's Reproductive Health & Cardio-Obstetrics Member Section joined a virtual Hill Day, urging their federal lawmakers to support several bills aimed at improving maternal health.
  • ACC President Christopher M. Kramer, MD, FACC testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Labor-Health and Human Services Subcommittee in April 2025 to urge full funding for the Cardiomyopathy Health, Education, Awareness, Research and Training in Schools (HEARTS) Act (H.R. 6829), which would make AEDs available in public elementary and secondary schools.
  • Contributing to ACC's work as a member of the Smart Heart Sports Coalition, ACC State Chapters have played a major role in advocating for the successful passage of AED access legislation in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, New York, Nevada, North Dakota, Vermont and Virginia. Chapters in Wisconsin and Massachusetts are also seeing progress on this issue.

Policy Progress

  • The Connected Maternal Online Monitoring (MOM) Act (H.R. 4977/S. 141) was a key talking point at this year's Legislative Conference, which led to a 67% increase in cosponsors in the House.
  • The HEARTS Act, which aims to educate the public about cardiomyopathy and support the placement of AEDs in schools, was signed into law in December 2024. The ACC continues to advocate for full funding of this legislation in fiscal year 2026.
  • The Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act (H.R. 4002) would help increase the number of physician-owned hospitals and improve patient access to high-quality care.
  • Several bills aimed at improving maternal health nationwide have been reintroduced in Congress, including the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1909/S. 2621), Connected MOM Act (H.R. 4977/S. 141) and the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act (H.R. 1254/S. 380).

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Improve Access to Maternal Health Monitoring Tools

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