Funding for Health Care Providers During the Pandemic: An Update according to the Kaiser Family Fund
Not exactly a disinterested source, but usually a good starting place to look at healthcare economics. By request.
Nancy Ochieng, Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, MaryBeth Musumeci, and Tricia Neuman
Published: Jan 27, 2022
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress, states, and both the Trump and Biden Administrations have adopted a number of policies to ease financial pressure on hospitals and other health care providers. The infusion of funds was intended to help alleviate the fiscal impact of revenue loss due to delays in non-urgent care, coupled with new costs associated with COVID-19. With the recent increase in Omicron-related cases, hospitalizations and deaths, this brief describes the main sources of federal funds for health care providers and how those funds have been allocated. It also describes federal spending for COVID-19 testing, including at-home testing, using the most recent data available (as of September 2021).
Federal Funding for Hospitals and Other Health Care Providers During the Pandemic:
Key Sources of Federal Support The federal government has used a variety of strategies to provide enhanced financial support for hospitals and other health care providers to compensate for revenue loss and higher costs associated with the pandemic:
The Impact of the Pandemic on Health Care Spending and Providers
The capacity of hospitals and other health care providers to withstand the pressures of the pandemic depends on a variety of factors, including their financial health prior to the pandemic, the impact of the pandemic on revenue and expenses, and how much assistance they received from the federal government. In this section we briefly describe the impact of the pandemic and federal actions to support different types of providers. In the next section, we provide more detail on the various policies enacted by Congress and the Executive Branch over the last two years.
Sources of Federal Support for Hospitals and Other Health Care Providers During the Pandemic
Approaching two years into the pandemic, policymakers have provided substantial support for hospitals and other health care providers to compensate for lost revenue and higher expenses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislative actions are described in the timeline below (Figure 1).
Anybody looked at the practical effect of these policies? Did a lot of rural facilities survive? What have providers done to improve services in general from this infusion? We seem to have killed off a large number of doctors and skilled nursing staff. True? What has happened to them? Are we better prepared for a future emergency? Do we have a trained cadre of lower skilled people to support professionals?
I suspect we stuffed selected pockets and actually are worse off from the "help".
Dr. Nass, do you have an answer as to why so many rural hospitals in the southeast (perhaps elsewhere) have cĺosed despite this infusion of money? Purposely accomplished?
Your endless work is most appreciated!