The American Rescue Plan will subtly improve revenue and reduce cost pressures for nonprofit U.S. hospitals, according to a March 24 Fitch Ratings report.
Although the plan only provides direct aid to rural healthcare providers, the measures that will help reduce the number of uninsured Americans are credit positive, Fitch said.
In particular, the relief package will cover 100 percent of the costs of COBRA premiums for workers who are laid off through Sept. 30 of this year, provide incentives to expand Medicaid coverage and expand ACA premium subsidies.
The relief package also allocates $50 billion to the disaster relief fund, which may be used to help hospitals buy personal protective gear and other supplies.