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Hospitals are contending with an exhausted workforce, backlogs of care deferred by the pandemic, cracks in the supply chain and a tsunami of financial challenges, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack writes in an advertorial published today in the Wall Street Journal. 
 
“Taken together, these challenges threaten access to care for patients and communities in the short term and are unsustainable for the long term,” he notes. “To address some of the immediate needs and ensure access to care, we continue to urge Congress to provide support to hospitals and their caregivers.” 
 
Among specific actions, the advertorial calls for Congress to reverse Medicare cuts that resumed in April and will increase July 1; provide additional funding to address lost revenues and increased expenses brought on by the delta and omicron surges; and extend or make permanent critical waivers that have improved patient care.