Eight weeks after Congress created a $100 billion fund to aid providers struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some providers that serve women, children and vulnerable populations still haven’t gotten any of the money. CMS sent payments at warp speed to hospitals and providers that bill fee-for-service Medicare, starting distribution two weeks after the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law. The distribution wasn’t perfect — HHS sent funds to hospitals that had closed and several insurers that ended up returning the money. But the department has taken the opposite approach in sending money to Medicaid providers. Certain specialties like pediatrics, OB-GYN and behavioral health have suffered revenue drops as volume has fallen like the rest of the healthcare system, but they haven’t been eligible for aid.
Read the full article: Trump Administration Slow to Distribute Grants to Medicaid Providers //
Source: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/finance/trump-administration-slow-distribute-grants-medicaid-providers