The first round of the emergency funding, $30 billion of the $100 billion nationally, from the CARES bill has been released to hospitals and physician groups. Click here for more information from HHS. Hospitals received payments electronically through wire transfers and these funds do not need to be re-paid. As WSHA described on calls earlier this week, the funding will be based on hospitals’ Medicare Part A & B payment (fee-for-service) proportional to the overall Medicare spending from 2019. We recognize the significant limitations on this formula and will continue to advocate for you all. WSHA worked with our Congressional delegation on a letter to prioritize funding for Washington State.
Priorities for the remaining $70 billion: The administration has said it is working rapidly on targeted distributions that will focus on providers in areas particularly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, rural providers, providers of services with lower shares of Medicare reimbursement or who predominantly serve the Medicaid population and providers requesting reimbursement for the treatment of uninsured Americans.
