The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published additional information about the Provider Relief Fund allocation announced last week to aid safety-net providers in responding to COVID-19. The new allocation includes approximately $10 billion to be distributed to 761 hospitals across the country.
In an update to the Provider Relief Fund FAQ document, HHS identified hospitals eligible for this allocation using 2018 Medicare cost report data to determine if the facility meets specific criteria. Payment amounts were calculated by the proportion of an individual facility score (number of beds multiplied by the Medicare disproportionate share hospital patient percentage) to all facility scores, applied to the $10 billion allocation.
In addition, HHS made public a list of total payments by state, including the number of hospitals in each state receiving a payment in this distribution. HHS intends to process these payments via direct deposit.
The $175 billion Provider Relief Fund was authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. The fund is intended to support providers incurring health care–related expenses and lost revenue related to COVID-19 response efforts. To date, HHS has allocated more than $100 billion from the fund.
The association developed a members only COVID-19 funding tracker, capturing opportunities for essential hospitals to access needed resources. We encourage all members to visit our coronavirus resource page for more information about the outbreak.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
