AHA participates in business forum on COVID-19

Participating today in a virtual event on the COVID-19 pandemic, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack talked with David Rubenstein, president of The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., about the financial challenges hospitals face.

“Right now hospitals are facing what I would call a triple whammy,” Pollack said, describing the increased expenses associated with preparing and caring for COVID-19 patients and covering the uninsured while very little revenue comes in from regular operations due to the need to cancel non-emergency procedures. “In fact, we are probably facing the biggest financial crisis in our history. … There’s no question that hospitals’ viability is going to be threatened and we will see closures as a result of this unless we’re able to get the kind of assistance that’s necessary.”

Association of American Medical Colleges President and CEO David Skorton, M.D., also joined him for the conversation and discussed the impact of the pandemic on America’s medical schools. A replay of the event is available on the Economic Club website.