Several states have allocated federal COVID-19 relief funding to assist hospitals as the pandemic continues across the nation.
In late March, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which included $150 billion for states to use on necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency. States have the authority to allocate this funding how they see fit.
Many states are designating CARES Act funds specifically to assist hospitals:
- North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) signed legislation that included $95 million to hospitals in the state;
- The Oregon Emergency Board allocated $50 million for rural hospital stabilization grants;
- The Pennsylvania legislature appropriated $10 million to critical access hospitals; and
- The South Carolina legislature appropriated $125 million to the state hospital relief fund.
Preparing for COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
The National Governor’s Association (NGA) in an Aug. 3 memorandum outlines best practices for distributing potential COVID-19 vaccines.
The NGA describes the importance of a “whole government” response to fighting COVID-19 and participating in vaccination efforts. The document touches on best practices for vaccine distribution in several areas, including:
- distribution from industry to states;
- distribution from states to the public;
- prioritizing critical populations;
- previous planning efforts and lessons learned;
- mitigating vaccine hesitancy and misinformation; and
- legal considerations.
We encourage all members to visit the America’s Essential Hospitals coronavirus resource page for more information about the outbreak.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.