HHS announces additional $10 billion in high impact COVID-19 area funding to hospitals in response to recent surge
HHS announces additional $10 billion in high impact COVID-19 area funding to hospitals in response to recent surge
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the following:
Additional $10 billion in funding to high impact COVID-19 areas
HHS will begin distributing $10 billion in a second round of high impact COVID-19 area funding to hospitals starting next week in response to recent surges in positive COVID-19 cases.
On June 8, 2020, HHS sent communications to all hospitals about plans to distribute a second round of funding to high impact COVID-19 areas and asked them to submit data on their COVID-19 positive-inpatient admissions for the period Jan. 1, 2020, through June 10, 2020. Their submissions were used to determine their eligibility and share of the second round of the funding being announced today to ensure hospitals are equitably supported in the battle against this pandemic. Payments from the $10 billion distribution will provide relief to more than 1,000 hospitals across the nation and begin as early as Monday of next week.
The second round of funding is based on a formula for hospitals with over 161 COVID-19 admissions between Jan. 1, 2020 and June 10, 2020, or one admission per day, or that experienced a disproportionate intensity of COVID admissions (exceeding the average ratio of COVID admissions/bed). Hospitals will be paid $50,000 per eligible admission.
The first round of funding was based on a formula that distributed funds to hospitals with 100 or more COVID-19 admissions between Jan. 1, 2020 and April 10, 2020 and paid $76,975 per eligible admission. These previous high impact payments were also taken into account when determining each hospital’s payment in this second round distribution.
Deadline extension for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) distribution submission
In June, HHS announced the opening of the application period and plans to distribute approximately $15 billion to eligible providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs who had not yet received a payment from the $50 billion General Distribution. To ensure eligible Medicaid and CHIP providers have the opportunity to apply for a funding distribution, the deadline to apply has been extended to Aug. 3, 2020.
Please contact Baker Tilly for any questions related to these Provider Relief Fund Distributions.
