Hospitals seeking billions in remaining relief payouts

Hospitals are asking the Biden administration to distribute billions of dollars in relief funds allocated to providers last year to cover losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Hospitals say it has been more than three months since the government announced it would be distributing the funds. The last announcement was Dec. 17, when HHS said it would dish out $24.5 billion to 70,000 healthcare providers. Hospital groups say they haven't had any communication about another round of disbursements since. 

Of the $178 billion initially placed in the fund, $24 billion has yet to be allocated, according to the Journal. Additionally, legislation signed into law this month added $8.5 billion to the fund for rural healthcare providers. 

Tom Nickels, executive vice president for government relations at the AHA, told the Journal that hospitals are eager to work with HHS on plans for distributing the remainder of the funding. 

"Congress fortunately provided us a sizable amount of funding for hospitals and providers last year. However, the need continues," Mr. Nickels told the Journal. "There are places where we have surges of COVID patients, and hospitals experiencing lost revenue."

 

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