Perspective
Perspective is a weekly blog from Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, that explores the most important issues facing hospitals and health systems.
The heroic efforts of our hospitals, health systems and care teams in fighting the pandemic over the past 17 months is a testament to the dedication and determination of the best health professionals in the world.
President Biden has expressed his hope that America will have a normal, or as close to normal as possible, Fourth of July this year. All the signs increasingly point to fulfillment of that wish — a wish we all share.
Most studies of the toll COVID-19 has taken on the mental health of Americans reach the same conclusion: The pandemic has made what were already serious problems much worse.
The government’s announcement last week that more than half of all adults in the U.S. have received at least one COVID-19 shot is a remarkable feat that outperforms earlier predictions about the pace of vaccinations across the country.
When President Biden signed legislation on Wednesday eliminating the 2% across-the-board cut to all Medicare payments until the end of 2021, it extended needed relief to doctors, hospitals and other providers caring for patients and vaccinating communities.
When Congress returns to Washington, D.C., on Monday, lawmakers’ attention will turn to one of the largest infrastructure spending packages in our nation’s history.
As more vaccine supplies become available and more jurisdictions expand priority categories or do away with them altogether, hospitals and health systems continue to work overtime to serve as access points.
The incredible job that hospitals and caregivers have done over the past year saving lives, treating very sick patients and protecting their communities has been acknowledged and enabled by Congress through relief aid several times since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patients should expect that any drugs or medications they require are safe, administered effectively and available when needed. But, some commercial health insurance companies are changing the rules about how drugs are handled and administered, with serious consequences for patient care.
1.5 million people. That’s the approximate number of people that hospitals and health systems have treated for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. To put that in perspective, that would mean filling Chicago’s Soldier Field to capacity 24 times.