Experts expect nursing homes to receive funding relief from the $2 trillion stimulus package within days after the Trump administration announced it will begin distributing the first $30 billion in funding to hospitals.
“The money can’t come soon enough,” Robin Hillier, CPA, LNHA, STNA, RAC-MT, financial consultant and founder of RLH Consulting, told McKnight’s in an email.
Hillier added that many details haven’t been provided to skilled nursing facilities but noted that based on insight from state and national associations, “the money could come as early as Friday.”
“Based on past experience, I am skeptical, but that’s what I am hearing,” Hillier speculated. “This will make such a difference to SNFs who have seen dramatic increases in spending for PPE; increased costs related to establishing isolation units, hazard pay or other staff incentives, overtime pay because of staff who are symptomatic or sick not being able to work, etc.”
“We don’t know when we’re going to see it but I’m guessing that it’s going to be within days — a day or a few days,” added Ruth Katz, senior vice president of policy for LeadingAge, on Thursday. “Once they open the spigot, we can only hope they’ll leave it on.”
Katz said she expects the second round of funding to be released soon and will likely include nursing homes and other post-acute care providers.
“I would expect that after this first tranche that the second tranche is going to include nursing homes,” Katz added.
LeadingAge requested about $34.6 billion for post-acute care providers in a recent letter to the Department of Health and Human Services. It also asked if any relief could take into account increased costs from additional staff leave, overtime, personal protective equipment and supplies, and decreased revenues from dips in admissions and changing case-mix.
“We would certainly hope that they take into account not just what you spent on PPE and your extra spending on staff but also lost revenues,” Katz said.
