MSSNY Applauds Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for Advancing the HEROES Act


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MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
865 Merrick Avenue, Westbury, New York 11590-9007
www.mssny.org
Communications Division
Telephone: (516) 488-6100

 

For Immediate Release

MSSNY Applauds Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for Advancing the HEROES Act


May 15, 2020, Westbury, NY
—MSSNY is grateful to Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand and the many members of New York’s Congressional delegation for advancing the HEROES Act to provide significant new resources for our health care system and our state and local governments to help in on our ongoing efforts to confront the myriad of issues caused by the COVID19 crisis.  While we continue to seek improvements to the legislation, it contains several important components that are absolutely essential for the next Congressional stimulus package.

The “Heroes Act” prioritizes essential needs of states, physicians, and other health care providers who are on the front lines fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. This is not only a public health crisis, but also an economic one, especially here in New York where we have been hit the hardest by the virus.  For example, MSSNY’s most recent survey of its physician members noted that:

  • 79% have seen a reduction of more than 50% in the volume of patients visiting their practices.
  • Nearly 3/4 had a greater than 50% drop in practice revenue.
  • More than a quarter had to lay off or furlough more than 50% of their staff, and 40% had to lay off or furlough at least 25% of their staff.

While the survey noted that a significant number of responding physicians received a small business Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, many others noted the difficulty in accessing the health care provider relief pool, which has been overwhelmingly allocated to hospitals not community physicians. Overall, the survey demonstrated that the CARES Act enacted by Congress in March and supplemented in April has helped to offset some of these enormous deficits effecting patient access to care and tens of thousands of jobs, but it has been nowhere near enough to ensure the survival of many physician practices across the state.

In addition to extending and improving important financial lifeline programs such as the PPP and the Medicare Advance payment program, the HEROES Act acknowledges that the economic fallout from COVID-19 increases the need for shoring up important programs such as Medicaid, which provide support to families who need it during these unprecedented times. Expanding access to comprehensive healthcare coverage ensures that New Yorkers get the care they need through this crisis.  It also helps to prevent against devastating cuts that may be imposed that will adversely impact patient access to care.

MSSNY will also continue to work with the New York Congressional delegation to improve other aspects of the legislation to better ensure grant funding is prioritized to hard-hit community physicians, and to provide desperately needed medical student loan relief to front line physicians, residents and students (as has recently been proposed by Representative Carolyn Maloney).

As we begin the recovery process and work to prevent against a second “surge” of infection, the HEROES Act contains several positive provisions to get the country back on track and meet future challenges that the virus will present going forward.

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About the Medical Society of the State of New York
Founded in 1807, the Medical Society of the State of New York is the state’s principal non-profit professional organization for physicians, residents and medical students of all specialties. Its mission is to represent the interests of patients and physicians to assure quality healthcare services for all.

MSSNY Contact:
Roseann Raia
Communications / Marketing
Medical Society of the State of New York
865 Merrick Ave.
Westbury, New York
516-488-6100 ext 302
rraia@mssny.org

 

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