Dive Brief:
- A stop-gap funding bill the president signed into law Thursday will keep the government open until mid-December and includes some provisions that could help providers’ bottom lines. The bill includes relief on advanced and accelerated Medicare loans and a delay of Medicaid payment cuts for disproportionate share hospitals.
- The legislation extending government funding at current levels was passed by the House earlier this month and approved by the Senate on Wednesday. But more sweeping aid many providers wanted, including more grants for hospitals and a higher federal match rate for Medicaid, were left out of the legislation.
- Provider groups like the American Hospital Association thanked Congress and the Trump administration for the relief, but AHA noted it would continue lobbying for Medicare loan forgiveness and an extended deadline for the Medicaid DSH cuts.
Dive Insight:
The continuing resolution, and its healthcare provisions within, are pretty much the only direct aid providers can expect from Washington before the looming November presidential election. Congress has largely punted on a fifth round of COVID-19 relief legislation amid partisan deadlock, with Republicans backing a much skinnier package than Democrats.
The CR delays the repayment date for $100 billion in advanced Medicare loans to providers by a year. CMS originally planned to start recouping the loans from providers’ fee-for-service Medicare payments in late July, but unilaterally decided to hold off as lawmakers negotiated the bill.
It also lowers the rate of recoupment to 25% for the first 11 months of repayment, down from the current 100% rate, and 50% for the next six months. Providers have 29 months to pay back the funds in full before interest kicks in, and the interest rate is decreased from 9.6% to 4%.
The original repayment terms and timeline would have been difficult for some cash-strapped doctor’s offices and hospitals to meet, as the burden imposed by COVID-19 hasn’t lifted and is worsening in many areas of the country. Many providers took out the loans earlier this year as a lifeline to stave off insolvency — still a very real threat for many practices.
About 35% of primary care physicians say revenue and income are still significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, losses that could force them to close, according to a September survey by the Larry A. Green Center and the Primary Care Collaborative.
AHA CEO Rick Pollack said in a Wednesday statement the massive hospital association appreciated the provisions, but would keep pushing for full loan forgiveness, along with extending the delay of DSH cuts for all of the 2021 fiscal year. The CR pushed back the original payment cut start date from Dec. 1 to Dec. 12.
The Association of American Medical Colleges was more worried about the impact on the system.
“We are concerned that health care providers, researchers, students, and public health professionals — who have been our country’s first line of defense against COVID-19 — will remain in limbo despite ongoing challenges that the pandemic presents,” CEO David Skorton said in a statement. “We strongly believe that a larger COVID-19 legislative relief package is essential to our nation’s health.”
However, drastic estimates from providers on financial losses largely haven’t panned out, though public health experts do warn COVID-19 could worsen going into the winter months. AHA estimated U.S. hospitals would see operating profits fall by almost $51 billion in April, the month with the sharpest volume decline because of the pandemic. It’s likelier hospitals lost about half that, according to research from a congressional advisory board, with federal grants covering the worst of short-term losses.
The CR also includes a provision stopping Medicare beneficiaries from seeing a monthly $50 Part B premium hike next year. It will keep the government open until Dec. 11, setting up another funding fight to avoid a shutdown after the election.
HENRY KOTULA 