Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday
that the Trump administration is considering using $100 billion that
Congress designated for hospital relief to pay for COVID-19 treatment for the uninsured.
“The White House Coronavirus Task Force is working on a
proposal for the president to use some of the $100 billion we are making
available to hospitals to compensate the hospitals directly for any
coronavirus treatment they provide to uninsured Americans,” Pence said.
The Federation of Hospitals said that uninsured individuals
should not have to worry about paying for COVID-19 treatment, but that
the funding should not come out of money Congress set aside in a
so-called “Marshall Plan” for hospital surge capacity, protective
equipment and lost revenue for providers.
“We need to be reimbursed for care for the uninsured, that’s
important. But if we don’t have up-front resources to keep caregivers
on the front line, it’s not going to make that much of a difference down
the line,” said FAH President and CEO Chip Kahn.
HHS has not yet released details about how the $100 billion
in provider funds will be distributed, but hospital groups have asked
for most of the money to be given directly to hospitals and for it to be
distributed quickly.
An HHS spokesperson said Thursday that HHS Secretary Alex
Azar is leading an administration-wide policy process to determine how
to distribute the funds to make sure the approach represents the “best thinking” across the government.
“It is premature to speak in detail about how these funds
will be distributed. Needless to say, the administration will seek to
distribute the funds in a way that is fast, fair, simple and
transparent,” the spokesperson said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate
Appropriations health subcommittee Chair Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said they
both spoke with Azar on Wednesday about the fund.
The administration is considering a blanket distribution of a
significant portion of the funds to hospitals across the country within
the next three weeks, Blunt said.
The American Hospital Association told HHS on Tuesday that
it wants every hospital across the country to directly and immediately
get $25,000 per hospital bed, with additional payments for hospitals in
COVID-19 hotspots. The baseline funding request alone would cost $23
billion, the group estimated.
Pelosi said her advice to Azar was to get the money out
quickly, and that Congress will make sure HHS has more funds for medical
supplies and hospitals if needed.
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-policy/white-house-considers-using-hospital-relief-funds-pay-uninsured