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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

  • In 2026, ACC Chapters in California, Delaware, New York, Vermont and several other states have participated in lobby days to advocate for increasing access to AEDs, streamlining prior authorization processes and improving access to preventive cardiovascular care.
  • ACC President Roxana Mehran, MD, FACC, submitted testimony to the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health, urging increased funding for federal health agencies and full funding for the Cardiomyopathy Health, Education, Awareness, Research and Training in Schools (HEARTS) Act to 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

  • Congress passed 2026 funding legislation in February, authorizing support for state-based maternal mortality review committees through 2030. This was a priority issue for the ACC and the Reproductive Health & Cardio-Obstetrics Member Section.
  • The Connected Maternal Online Monitoring (MOM) Act (H.R. 4977/S. 141) was a key talking point at ACC Legislative Conference 2025, which led to a 100% 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.
  • The Women's Heart Health Expansion Act of 2026 (H.R. 7417), which would reauthorize and remove outdated eligibility restrictions in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's WISEWOMAN program, was reintroduced into Congress.

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Improve Access to Maternal Health Monitoring Tools

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