The Biden administration is sending out more than $560 million in Provider Relief Fund payments to providers, with a major emphasis on helping smaller providers.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the payments were part of a nearly $11.5 billion tranche of Phase 4 funding, which has been distributed to more than 78,000 providers to help them recover financially from fighting COVID-19.
“Provider Relief Funds have been a lifeline for health care providers across the country,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in a statement. “From providing life-saving care to tackling workforce challenges, these funds will help many health care facilities weather the pandemic’s continued impact.”
The payments have a higher focus on health equity, HRSA said. The agency gave more money to alleviate a higher percentage of losses for smaller providers. The agency also incorporated bonus payments for providers that have large patient populations in Medicaid or other government programs.
“Approximately 86% of all Phase 4 applicants have now been processed,” HRSA said. “Remaining applications will continue to be processed throughout early 2022.”
The CARES Act passed in 2020 created a $178 billion relief fund to help providers that struggled financially due to the pandemic.
The Biden administration has sought to prioritize remaining funds towards smaller providers that traditionally operate on thinner margins.
Lawmakers have criticized HHS for slowly rolling out the remaining funds especially as providers have faced several new surges of the virus.