Several hospital and health system leaders told Congress about the challenges they're experiencing amid the COVID-19 pandemic and urged more financial support Feb. 10 during an American Hospital Association virtual policy briefing.
These leaders included New York City-based One Brooklyn Health System President and CEO LaRay Brown, St. Louis-based Ascension Executive Vice President and COO Craig Cordola, and Pasadena, Calif.-based Huntington Hospital CEO Lori Morgan, MD.
During the briefing, the leaders discussed workforce shortages, loss of revenue and increased costs of labor, equipment and supplies, according to an AHA news release.
The leaders pushed Congress to distribute the rest of the Provider Relief Fund and add $25 billion, extend Medicare sequester relief, provide hospitals with more time to repay accelerated and advance Medicare payments and provide relief for 340 billion hospitals, according to the release.
"The hospital and health care system crisis is real," Dr. Morgan said. "As a group, hospitals large and small stood up for their communities when no one else was able to do so. But help is needed."