HHS' Office of Inspector General recently announced that it will audit $50 billion in COVID-19 relief aid sent to hospitals and other healthcare providers.
The OIG said it will examine how HHS awarded and disbursed $50 billion in provider relief fund payments under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. It will review data and interview program officials to determine if the payments were correctly calculated and review payments for compliance with CARES Act requirements.
Congress has allocated $175 billion in relief aid to hospitals and other healthcare providers to cover expenses or lost revenues tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first $50 billion in funding from the CARES Act was delivered to hospitals in April. HHS distributed $30 billion based on Medicare fee-for-service reimbursements and another $20 billion based on hospitals' share of net patient revenue.
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