AHA Urges HHS to Temporarily Suspend Certain Requirements on Health Care Providers

The American Hospital Association asks the Secretary of Health and Human Services to consider additional actions to temporarily suspend certain requirements in order for health care providers to better respond to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Immediately following the President’s national emergency declaration, HHS and its agencies took action to implement critical waivers consistent with section 1135 of the Social Security Act for hospitals and health systems across the country. Those initial steps, as well as additional waivers announced on March 30, are already playing a vital role in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we are grateful for your decisions to expand treatment location options to allow hospitals and their communities to better address the surge of patients; open up telehealth options for providers and their patients; and reinforce and support the health care workforce by adding flexibility to important licensing and privileging requirements.

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