HHS Announces $40 Billion Federal Grant Funds To Be Given To Rural Hospitals, COVID-19 Hotspots
- April 23, 2020
Modern Healthcare (4/22, Cohrs, Subscription Publication) reports “HHS said Wednesday that the department will distribute $40 billion in federal grant funds with carveouts for providers in COVID-19 hotspots and rural areas, and will reimburse providers for uncompensated COVID-19 care.” Approximately “$20 billion will go out [to] providers generally based on 2018 net patient revenue from cost reports.” An additional “$10 billion will be sent to providers in COVID-19 hotspot areas” and “a separate $10 billion is set aside for rural providers, and will be distributed sometime next week based on operating expenses.”
Politico (4/22, Roubein) reports “hospitals in areas with a surge of [COVID-19] cases can apply for their share of $10 billion, which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer estimated will result in $4.4 billion for his hard-hit home state of New York.” On a call with reporters, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said, “Our goal in all of the decisions we’re making is to get this money out the door as quickly as possible, while targeting it to those suffering the most from the pandemic.”
The Hill (4/22, Weixel) reports HHS Secretary “Azar said this newest wave of funding will be much more targeted, and will largely be based on the total number of admitted patients who tested positive for COVID-19.” According to The Hill, “hospitals in those hard-hit areas have until April 23 at midnight to apply for the funding.”