Billions of dollars in pandemic aid for hospitals and nursing homes is being handed out
HHS officials said they are holding back an additional several billion dollars to have it available for helping to cover coronavirus treatment, testing and vaccinations for people who are uninsured.
Friday’s announcement marks the first time any of the federal money intended to help the health-care system stave off financial hardship because of the pandemic has been handed out since President Biden took office.
A wide swath of the health-care industry has been voicing escalating complaints in recent months that the money was sitting unused, especially as the highly contagious delta variant fills hospitals in some parts of the nation with patients sick with covid-19, the illness caused by the virus.
Previous money, given out in three phases, was available only for financial burdens incurred in the pandemic’s first months, through June 2020, although the vast majority of infections occurred since then. The newly released money can be applied to expenses from July 2020 through March of this year.
Read the full story from The Washington Post here.
