The AHA Friday outlined a number of actions Congress could take to help the nation prepare for the next pandemic, noting that the current pandemic also remains a challenge.

“While preparing for the next pandemic will improve our nation’s overall readiness, we cannot lose sight of the other threats that our nation faces,” AHA wrote to Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., responding to a recent white paper he authored on the issue. “We urge the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee and Congress to view preparedness from an all-hazard perspective so that we can best be prepared to respond to the next emergency, whether it is man-made, a weather emergency or an emerging novel virus.”

AHA said Congress should provide at least $750 million a year in direct funding to hospitals and health systems through the Hospital Preparedness Program and create a permanent emergency fund to quickly provide additional relief when needed.

AHA also voiced support for a number of the white paper’s initial recommendations, and urged additional action to ensure continued access to telehealth services, health coverage and care.

Related News Articles

Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services July 10 announced it will provide resources and flexibilities to health care providers and residents who…
Headline
 The Food and Drug Administration July 10 approved Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine for children under 12 with at least one underlying condition that…
Headline
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration June 30 released a proposed rule to remove what remains of its emergency temporary standard for occupational…
Headline
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. May 27 announced in a post on X that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
Headline
Leaders of the Food and Drug Administration May 20 announced new guidelines for administering the COVID-19 vaccine in a paper published by the New England…
Headline
A study published April 8 by the Public Library of Science’s Journal of Global Public Health found that driving while infected with COVID-19 raises the risk of…