The Department of Health and Human Services’ disclosed on Tuesday that it is increasing Phase 3 Provider Relief Funding by $4.5 billion to $24.5 billion. This served as welcome news to many healthcare segments, including home care. 

“We look forward to HHS making funds available to a significant segment of home care that has not received anything so far,” William A. Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily on Thursday. “Personal care services providers are caring for a highly vulnerable patient population along with COVID-19 infected patients, yet they have received no support, and that includes the last distribution of relief funds. That is simply wrong.”

Other long-term care provider leaders also expressed optimism about the relief.

“The announcement of the Phase 3 payment — $4.5 billion in addition to the originally planned $20 billion in Provider Relief Funds — acknowledges the financial losses that have been mounting throughout the pandemic for home care and hospice, nursing homes, assisted living, as well as other providers across the care continuum,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, which represents home care among other providers. “What’s more, it also recognizes that critical-needs expenses such as PPE, tests and staff have risen throughout the pandemic, and are now spiking as COVID-19 cases surge.”

The recent tranche of funding will go to more than 70,000 healthcare providers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. The funding is expected “to satisfy close to 90% of each applicant’s reported lost revenues and net changes in expenses due to the coronavirus pandemic in the first half of 2020,” HHS said.

An HHS spokesperson told the McKnight’s Home Care Daily that if home care agencies applying for funds meet the program’s requirements for related expenses and lost revenue due to COVID-19, they will receive funding. After verifying receipt of, and accepting terms and conditions for payment, they will be added to the HHS database.