WASHINGTON – The Federation of American Hospitals President and CEO Chip Kahn released the following statement in reaction to the bipartisan coronavirus relief package:

“The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act throws a critical lifeline to frontline caregivers in the COVID fight. The Federation commends congressional leaders and President Trump for these necessary resources to keep hospitals open and serving our patients. 

“The act will help assure that hospitals can respond to the virus as well as to other, non-COVID patients, particularly when scheduled procedures come back online. The act’s dedicated funding for testing is another important step toward ensuring patient and staff safety and enabling the resumption of elective procedures.

“While we appreciate Congress taking swift action – more still needs to be done to defeat COVID. It is important that HHS distributes the funding in a timely, well-targeted fashion. And it remains mission-critical to reform the Medicare Accelerated Payment Program so that it does not impede hospitals’ ability to meet patient needs.”