Rural Health officials say the COVID 19 pandemic is putting pressure on many hospitals in rural areas. Recently the American Hospital Association asked Congress to provide $100 billion for all hospitals having to respond to the coronavirus. Center for Rural Affairs Policy Director Johnathan Hladik says there needs to be more funding for rural hospitals to be able to handle cases as they come up, whether it be COVID 19 or others.
He says rural hospitals who are already stretched for financial resources are being severely affected by the ability to deal with the COVID 19 outbreak.
Hladik says what’s also critical is making sure Medicaid has been expanded in states that have rural hospitals.
The head of the Rural Health Association, Alan Morgan says if they’re not able to address the short term cash needs of rural hospitals, many of those will close before the Covid 19 crisis ends.
