Capitol with flag against sunset background

Contact Your Senators and Urge Them to Support Hospitals and Health Systems in the Next COVID-19 Relief Package

Please reach out to your senators during the July 4 district work period

 

As Congress considers additional COVID-19 relief actions, we need to make sure hospital and health systems' priorities are at the top of its list. Additional support and resources are necessary, as an AHA study released yesterday estimates that hospitals' financial losses from COVID-19 are expected to top $323 billion in 2020.

We expect the next legislative package to come together this month, so please contact your senators while they are home for the July 4 district work period and ask them to include a number of important provisions in the next COVID-19 relief package.

Please urge your senators to include:

  • additional support for front-line health care personnel;
  • forgiveness for accelerated payments;
  • maintaining health benefits for individuals and families and increasing coverage options for those who are uninsured;
  • appropriate liability protections to front-line medical providers and facilities; and
  • additional funding for hospitals and health systems.

More details and resources on these specific priorities and others are outlined below and available on our AHA Action Center webpage.

We've also made it easy for you to send messages to your senators — via email, phone or Twitter — and have your community engage as well. You can share this link with your community and ask them to amplify our message as well.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON SPECIFIC PROVISIONS CONGRESS SHOULD INCLUDE IN THE NEXT COVID-19 RELIEF PACKAGE

  • Federal Support for Health Care Heroes. Please urge Congress to: provide support for child care, housing, transportation and education benefits for hospital workers; provide bonus pay for hospital workers; and establish a compensation fund for COVID-19 health care workers and their families. View the AHA resource for more details.
     
  • Accelerated Payment Forgiveness for Hospitals. Congress should provide for full forgiveness of Medicare accelerated payments for hospitals. Forgiving hospitals' accelerated payments will provide a necessary solution to recover and rebuild while delivering the care that patients and communities are depending on. View the AHA resource for more details.
     
  • Increase Health Insurance Coverage. Congress should take action to maintain health benefits for individuals and families and increase coverage options for those who are already uninsured by: providing employer subsidies for preserving enrollment; covering COBRA costs; opening a Special Enrollment Period for Health Insurance Marketplaces; increasing eligibility for federal marketplace subsidies; expanding the period during which insurers cannot cancel coverage for non-payment of premiums; and providing charity care tax credits for hospitals. View the AHA resource for more details.
     
  • Federal Liability Protections. Congress should provide appropriate liability protections for facilities and front-line medical providers treating patients amid the COVID-19 crisis, for arranging for and providing health care services, including where treatment is provided, and how best to deploy personnel, equipment and facilities. View the AHA resource for more details.
     
  • Funding for Hospitals and Health Systems. Congress should provide additional funding to support hospitals and health systems. Two recent AHA reports estimate that hospitals will lose more than $323 billion from March 2020 through December 2020 as a result of COVID-19. While Congress has provided some relief funds, additional support is needed to allow hospitals and health systems to preserve access to care in communities. View the AHA resource for more details.

Further Questions
If you have questions, please contact AHA at 800-424-4301