Home Health & Hospice Week

Home care misses out in announced CARES Act funding, but more relief targets may await.

The feds are paying $50 billion to Medicare providers for COVID-19 help, based on their revenues. Where is the other $50 billion allocated in the CARES Act going?

On its Provider Relief Fund webpage, the Department of Health and Human Services indicates at least part of that pool will go to:

• $10 billion: Hospitals in “COVID-19 high-impact areas.”
• $10 billion: Rural health clinics and hospitals.
• $400 million: Indian Health Service facilities.
• An unreleased amount for providers treating uninsured patients.
• An unreleased amount for “some providers who will receive further, separate funding, including skilled nursing facilities, dentists, and providers that solely take Medicaid.”

Stay tuned: If HHS doesn’t allocate the entire $50 billion in the above categories, home health and hospice agencies might be eligible to receive further Provider Relief Fund payments, experts note.