FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 1, 2020
HHS Begins
Distribution of Payments to Hospitals with High COVID-19 Admissions, Rural
Providers
Today, the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) is processing payments from the Provider Relief Fund to
hospitals with large numbers of COVID-19 inpatient admissions through April
10, 2020, and to rural providers in support of the national response to
COVID-19.
“These new payments are being distributed to
healthcare providers who have been hardest hit by the virus: $12 billion to
facilities admitting large numbers of COVID-19 patients and $10 billion to
providers in rural areas, who are already working on narrow margins,” said
HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “HHS has put these funds out as quickly as
possible, after gathering data to ensure that they are going to the
providers who need them the most. With another $75 billion recently
appropriated by Congress, the Trump Administration will continue doing
everything we can to support America’s heroic healthcare providers on the
frontlines of this war on the virus.”
COVID-19 High-Impact Distribution:
Recognizing the particular impact the COVID-19
pandemic has had on hospitals in certain parts of the nation, and that
inpatient admissions are a primary driver of costs to hospitals related to
COVID-19, HHS is distributing $12 billion to 395 hospitals who provided
inpatient care for 100 or more COVID-19 patients through April 10, 2020, $2
billion of which will be distributed to these hospitals based on their
Medicare and Medicaid disproportionate share and uncompensated care
payments.
These 395 hospitals accounted for 71 percent of
COVID-19 inpatient admissions reported to HHS from nearly 6,000 hospitals
around the country. The distribution uses a simple formula to determine
what each hospital receives: hospitals are paid a fixed amount per COVID-19
inpatient admission, with an additional amount taking into account their
Medicare and Medicaid disproportionate share and uncompensated care
payments.
These hospitals will begin receiving funds via
direct deposit in the coming days.
View
the state and county breakdown.
Rural Distribution:
Rural hospitals, many of whom were operating on
thin margins prior to COVID-19, have also been particularly devastated by
this pandemic. As healthy patients delay care and cancel elective services,
rural hospitals are struggling to keep their doors open.
Recipients of the $10 billion rural distribution will include, rural acute care general hospitals and Critical Access
Hospitals (CAHs), Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), and Community Health Centers
located in rural areas.
Hospitals and RHCs will each receive a minimum
base payment plus a percent of their annual expenses. This expense-based
method accounts for operating cost and lost revenue incurred by rural
hospitals for both inpatient and outpatient services. The base payment will
account for RHCs with no reported Medicare claims, such as pediatric RHCs,
and CHCs lacking expense data, by ensuring that all clinical, non-hospital
sites receive a minimum level of support no less than $100,000, with
additional payment based on operating expenses. Rural acute care general
hospitals and CAHs will receive a minimum level of support of no less than
$1,000,000, with additional payment based on operating expenses.
Eligible providers will begin receiving funds in
the coming days via direct deposit, based on the physical address of the
facilities as reported to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA),
regardless of their affiliation with organizations based in urban areas.
View
the state-by-state breakdown.
HHS and the Administration are continuing to work
rapidly on additional targeted distributions to some providers including
skilled nursing facilities, dentists, and providers that solely take
Medicaid.
Visit hhs.gov/providerrelief
for additional information.
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