Two senators introduced a bill Feb. 9 that would allow hospitals and health systems to access the remaining funds from the Provider Relief Fund quickly and give them more flexibility on how the funds are used.
U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, and Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, introduced the bill to strengthen "support for overwhelmed providers."
Specifically the bill would:
- Extend deadlines for reporting and using the funds to the end of the pandemic;
- Allow providers to use the funds for workplace safety improvements like security personnel and risk assessments;
- Direct HHS to distribute any remaining dollars in the fund by March 31 or the end of the public health emergency;
- Create an application process for providers to receive funds returned in compliance with deadlines that already passed.
"The Provider Relief Fund has helped healthcare providers across the nation stay afloat amid unprecedented stress and demand for their services during COVID," said Ms. Shaheen. "We are still in the midst of this pandemic, and now is not the time to divert providers' focus from their lifesaving work to navigate a maze of complex reporting rules."
The American Hospital Association is asking its member hospitals to urge their senators to co-sponsor the bill.