Bipartisan congressional leaders ask HHS to clarify plan for distributing additional relief funds

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Finance committees today asked Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to clarify by June 10 the agency’s plan and timeline for disbursing COVID-19 emergency relief funds to Medicaid-dependent providers.

“As the chairs and ranking members of the committees of jurisdiction over the Medicaid program, we are concerned that the delay in disbursing funds from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for Medicaid-dependent providers could result in long term financial hardship for providers who serve some of our most vulnerable populations,” wrote Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., and Ranking Member Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Senate Finance Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “It could also severely hamper their ability to continue to serve as essential providers amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.”

AHA yesterday urged HHS to quickly distribute additional emergency funds to all hospitals, including hospitals serving high numbers of Medicaid and uninsured patients, among other recommendations.