Americans view hospitals very favorably, support additional financial aid in new Coalition public opinion polling

WASHINGTON (July 16, 2020) — New national public opinion polling shows Americans overwhelmingly support hospitals and recognize the need for further aid as front-line health care providers fight to defeat COVID-19. The poll conducted on behalf of the Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care found registered voters hold strongly favorable views of health care providers and hospitals, with 76% rating hospitals as favorable and 42% as very favorable. This is the highest level of support recorded in memory and is consistent across political affiliation. Three-quarters support $100 billion of additional relief for hospitals and other care providers, reflecting recognition of the clinical and financial challenge in the response to COVID-19. Among respondents, 58% believe that hospitals are experiencing bad times financially.

The 75% support for financial aid for hospitals includes majorities of Republicans (60%), Independents (76%) and Democrats (89%). Americans also report they are hearing more media reports about hospitals. More than 7-in-10 voters across the country say they have heard “a lot” about hospitals in the news, up from a previous high of just 20%. The more Americans are exposed to news about hospitals, the more they understand the challenges hospitals face in caring for coronavirus patients. This is also the case for Americans who have been hospitalized at some point during the pandemic.

Supermajorities across political affiliation also expressed support for proposals including:

• Providing financial assistance to help businesses that have been badly impacted by the coronavirus continue to provide health insurance coverage to their employees;
• Providing tax-free child care, housing, transportation and education benefits to health care providers working in hospitals who are caring for patients with the coronavirus;
• Protecting health care providers, like doctors and nurses working in hospitals, from lawsuits related to the coronavirus; and
• Protecting hospitals from lawsuits related to shortages of equipment or personnel during the coronavirus emergency.

“Our coalition was founded more than 20 years ago to serve as a unified voice for everyone who cares about hospitals and the health of their communities, and that voice is needed more today than ever,” said Marna P. Borgstrom, Chief Executive Officer of Yale New Haven Health System and Chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care. “These results indicate the American people are behind us in our advocacy to ensure hospitals and health systems have the resources they need in the continued battle against COVID-19.”

“Americans are paying close attention to this pandemic and how it impacts both their health and the hospitals they rely on for care,” said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “They know – as we do – that the entire nation is counting on hospitals and health systems to remain strong and resilient in this face of the COVID-19 threat. This is a matter of both public health and national security.”

“Unfortunately, the pandemic is far from over. Our caregivers are working tirelessly to save lives, but hospitals need help. Americans understand and that is why – regardless of party affiliation – we see broad based support for Congress and the Administration providing hospitals the resources necessary to beat COVID-19,” said Chip Kahn, President and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals.

The survey was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies through a national telephone survey of 800 registered voters from June 25-28, 2020. The margin of error was 3.46%.

View the survey’s findings HERE.

###

Contact:                                                            Sean Barry (AHA), 202-626-2306, sbarry@aha.org
                                                                           Sean Brown (FAH), (202) 624-1527, sbrown@FAH.org

About the Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care
The Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care was formed to protect access to the best quality care for all Americans. We are a community of 2 million people who recognize the important role hospitals play in communities all over America, and advocate on their behalf to elected officials in Washington who too-often put funding for critical patient care on the chopping block. The coalition represents the interests of the community, children’s, teaching, public, religious, rehabilitation, behavioral health, and long-term care hospitals, and their patients. More information is available at protecthealthcare.org.

About the American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA advocates on behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners – including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers – and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides insight and education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.

About the Federation of American Hospitals
The Federation of American Hospitals (FAH), founded in 1966, is the national representative of more than 1,000 tax-paying community hospitals and health systems throughout the United States. Our members include hospitals in urban and rural America, as well as inpatient rehabilitation, psychiatric, long-term acute care and cancer hospitals. These tax-paying hospitals account for nearly 20% of U.S. hospitals and serve their communities proudly while providing high-quality health care to their patients.