- Hospitals told a major Senate panel that a $385 million bucket of annual emergency preparedness funding up for reauthorization should “be at least doubled” if the country’s health care system is to be ready for another public health threat. In a letter to the Senate HELP Committee’s leading members, the American Hospital Association (AHA) told lawmakers that a greater investment is necessary to “help prepare and equip our nationwide health care system in advance of the growing number and scope of future disasters and public health emergencies.” AHA noted that funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) has slipped over the two decades since its inception, falling from a high of $520 million in fiscal year 2023 to the current $385 million. The program and its funds have been “critical” toward helping health systems collaborate with state, territory, and city health departments during health emergencies, AHA wrote. (Article here)
July 31, 2023
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