Congress already has allocated $175 billion in aid to hospitals and other healthcare providers to help relieve financial strain during the pandemic, but hospital groups say more is needed to cover lost revenue and higher expenses linked to COVID-19.
“The longer we are in the pandemic, the more clear it becomes that this is not going to be a short-term issue,” Beth Feldpush, senior vice president of policy and advocacy at America’s Essential Hospitals, told Bloomberg Law.
Though major for-profit hospital operators reported better-than-expected profits in the second quarter, hospitals that didn’t have much cash on hand at the beginning of the pandemic need added relief, according to the report.
The groups are pressing Congress for more money as Democrat leaders and White House officials are in a standoff over the next COVID-19 relief bill. Democrats proposed an additional $100 billion for the healthcare industry in legislation the House of Representatives passed in May, and Republicans included $25 billion for hospitals and physicians’ offices in their counterproposal, according to the report.
Read the full Bloomberg Law article here.
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