Starting next month, the federal government will stop reimbursing hospitals and other providers for the vaccination, testing, and treatment of uninsured COVID-19 patients. So far, about 50K providers have submitted a total of $20B of claims for COVID-related care for the uninsured.

Congress has yet to authorize more funding for this and other COVID relief programs, after stripping $15.6B from the latest government spending package. Though the White House is asking Congress to authorize $22.5B for further COVID aid and surge preparedness, it’s not clear how much of any new funding would go toward reimbursing care for the uninsured.

The Gist: This news comes as US officials expect a rise in cases driven by the Omicron BA.2 subvariant. Hospitals, already struggling with high labor and supply expenses, will face further margin pressures if a future COVID surge brings increased hospitalizations. 

This will be especially true for safety net hospitals, and for those in states which haven’t expanded Medicaid. At the same time, 15M Americans are also at risk of losing Medicaid coverage when the federal government ends the public health emergency. Lower-income patients and the hospitals that treat them have already shouldered COVID’s worst effects, and the funding stalemate risks further worsening their situation.