AHA names Steve Walsh as next president and CEO

The American Hospital Association has selected Steve Walsh as its next president and CEO, with the transition set to take effect this fall. The announcement resolves a long-running question about who would succeed current AHA leader Rick Pollack after he said last December that he planned to retire in December.

Walsh is currently president and CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, a role he has held since 2017. According to the state association, he will remain in that position until he officially moves to the national organization. The shift will move him from representing more than 70 hospital and health system members in Massachusetts to leading an association with nearly 5,000 member organizations, including hospitals, health systems, networks and other providers.

The appointment comes at a difficult moment for the hospital sector. The AHA said Walsh will take the helm as hospitals and health systems confront substantial policy and political challenges, including sweeping federal funding cuts. The change also places him at the center of ongoing debate over hospital costs and the future of federal policy affecting the industry.

Marc Boom, M.D., chair of the AHA’s Board of Trustees and president and CEO of Houston Methodist, said in the announcement that Walsh is “the right leader at the right time for America’s hospitals and health systems.” Boom said healthcare continues to evolve and the association needs a leader who can champion the field while helping shape what comes next. He added that Walsh brings “the experience, vision and collaborative leadership” needed to guide the association through its next chapter.

Walsh’s background includes six terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives before he moved into hospital lobbying and association leadership. While serving in the legislature, he chaired the healthcare financing committee and was associated with a major state healthcare reform law that, among other provisions, encouraged alternative payment methodologies, according to the AHA’s announcement.

In his own comments, Walsh said the “next era of American healthcare is bright” for patients and caregivers and said those groups will benefit from members’ unified focus on access, quality and innovation. He said that writing the next chapter will require creative leadership, trust and a willingness to bring unlikely partners together. Walsh also said he believes hospitals and health systems should define that future because of their unique connection to patients and communities.

Pollack, who has spent more than 40 years with the AHA, has led the association for the past decade. The organization said he is being recognized for work that helped secure regulatory flexibilities and financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also highlighted his focus on strengthening the workforce, improving patient safety and advancing cybersecurity.

Boom thanked Pollack on behalf of the board, calling his leadership and decades of service extraordinary and saying the association is deeply grateful for his contributions to the nation’s hospitals. He said the board is excited about the future under Walsh’s leadership.

Walsh takes over as the AHA faces heightened criticism over hospital prices that many view as too high. That scrutiny has opened the door to possible policy changes involving site-neutral payments, 340B drug discounts and consolidation. It has also already contributed to substantial reductions in state supplemental payments that are expected to take effect over the next few years.

The AHA’s move signals continuity in leadership, but it also marks a significant transition for the hospital lobby at a time when the sector is under intense public and political attention. Walsh will be taking the national stage just as the association works through a range of issues affecting hospitals, health systems and other providers.