Today, U.S. Representative Donna Shalala (FL-27) applauded the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as it began delivering $30 billion of the $100 billion allocated in relief funding to health care providers in support of the national response to COVID-19.
“For weeks now, I have been hearing from hospitals and health care providers in South Florida about the tremendous stress that the COVID-19 pandemic has put on their staff, resources, and bank accounts,” said Rep. Shalala. “This emergency funding will help keep facility doors open and providers on the job. While this is a significant amount of money, more funding will be necessary – and is on the way – to guarantee that our health care workers can continue to heroically combat this unprecedented global crisis.”
Figures released by HHS indicate that Florida is slated to receive over $2.2 billion of the initial $30 billion in emergency funding – the second largest amount of any state. The funds released today is the first distribution of the $100 billion in health care provider relief funds furnished by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act recently passed by Congress and signed by the president.
The initial distribution of the relief funds will go to hospitals and health care providers across the United States that are enrolled in Medicare. Facilities and providers are being allotted a portion of the initial $30 billion tranche based on their share of 2019 Medicare fee-for-service reimbursements. These are payments, not loans, to healthcare providers, and will not need to be repaid.
More information on the distribution can be found here.
