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A network of Virginia hospitals on Wednesday adopted a new approach to finding a way to use federal dollars from the Affordable Care Act to relieve the economic burden on the health-care industry: Don’t call it Medicaid expansion. Hospital chief executives gathered at an urban hospital in Richmond to unveil the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association’s ad campaign that will target lawmakers opposed to extending coverage to 400,000 uninsured Virginians and get residents thinking about the importance of community health care. (Portnoy, 9/16)

Some Virginia hospitals are financially struggling, threatening the delivery of medical services especially in rural areas, hospital executives warned Wednesday. Government decisions, such as 2 percent cuts to Medicare payments, failing to expand Medicaid, and penalizing hospitals for readmissions that are beyond their control, are driving some facilities, particularly those in rural areas, to financial insolvency, the executives said at a news conference convened at a hospital in Richmond’s East End. (Smith, 9/16)

Virginia's hospitals are taking a step back from their earlier appeals to expand Medicaid and are instead trying a new approach: reminding lawmakers how critical hospitals are to the state's welfare and emphasizing the financial strain they are under. The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association announced Wednesday at the Richmond Community Hospital that the group is launching a new ad campaign aimed at letting legislators and the public know that hospitals are under intense financial pressure and need help. (Suderman, 9/16)