Three major hospital associations penned a letter urging Congress to allocate at least $100 billion to healthcare providers in the next COVID-19 relief package.
The American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, said that more money is needed to help providers respond to the worsening pandemic.
"The number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase across the country at rates exceeding those during the spring of 2020, and we are concerned additional COVID-19 spikes in other states in the near future will continue to stress the entire healthcare system," the groups wrote.
The three associations said that physicians, nurses, hospitals and health systems across the country are incurring more expenses for supplies, facilities and staffing, and coupled with fewer lucrative elective cases, they're experiencing significant financial losses.
"The entire nation is counting on hospitals and health systems, physicians and nurses to remain strong and resilient as our country battles this pandemic," the letter reads.