AHA issues statement on 2020 election

“America’s hospitals and health systems congratulate President-elect Biden and look forward to working with him and his incoming Administration to make progress on the important issues facing the health care field, and the patients and communities we serve,” AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said Saturday after several media outlets called the election for Joe Biden. “We both share the same top priority: fighting the battle against COVID-19. As we continue on the front lines in this fight, we will work as partners to protect our patients and communities, as well as support our brave health care workers. Our other priorities remain the same: advancing the transformation of health care, ensuring access to coverage, enhancing the quality of care and making health care more affordable.”

Biden today announced the formation of the Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, a team of leading public health experts who will advise him, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and the Transition’s COVID-19 staff. David Kessler, M.D., a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner and a current professor at University of California San Francisco; Vivek Murthy, M.D., former Surgeon General under President Obama and Trump; and Marcella Nunez-Smith, M.D., associate dean for health equity research at Yale School of Medicine; will co-lead the Advisory Board.