HHS announces nearly $4.9 billion distribution to SNFs affected by COVID-19

The Department of Health and Human Services today announced that it has begun distributing nearly $4.9 billion from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to skilled nursing facilities to help them combat COVID-19.

HHS will make distributions to SNFs based on both a fixed basis and variable basis. Each SNF will receive a fixed distribution of $50,000, plus a distribution of $2,500 per bed. All certified SNFs with six or more certified beds are eligible for this targeted distribution.

The additional funds may help SNFs address critical areas such as labor, scaling up testing capacity, acquiring personal protective equipment, and other expenses directly linked to the pandemic, HHS said.

Funding recipients must attest that they only will use the payments for permissible purposes, as set forth in the terms and conditions, and agree to comply with future government audit and reporting requirements.