On March 27, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion piece of legislation intended to provide economic relief to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill includes numerous provisions
to ease the burden of COVID-19 on the health care community. In addition to advocating for this relief for providers, MMS has been analyzing the impact of the legislation and guidance around implementation. We hope the below overview and linked resources
will help our members understand the support provided in the CARES Act and gain clarity on how they may be eligible for financial relief.
- Overviews: The American Medical Association (AMA) provides a four-page, comprehensive overview of the provisions
related to the health care industry. A Senate Appropriations Committee summary
describes the entire bill. Below are key aspects of the legislation:
- Small Business Loans: The bill creates a new Paycheck Protection Program within the Small Business Administration
to provide loans of up to $10 million to help cover payroll and overhead costs, with expanded loan forgiveness criteria—physician practices with not more than 500 employees may qualify. These loans are given through SBA-approved lenders. The legislation also authorizes $10 billion for an emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) to eligible entities with not more than 500 employees.
- Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund: The bill creates a new fund of $100 billion to cover non-reimbursable expenses (including PPE, staffing, training, and lost revenue) attributable to COVID-19. Health care entities, including
physician practices, that provide health care, diagnoses, or testing are eligible—notably, reimbursement is not only available for hospitals and CAHs, but also other Medicare or Medicaid enrolled providers and suppliers. The bill provides little
guidance on how the funds will be dispersed—we will update MMS members when the HHS guidance on this provision is released, likely in the next week. In the interim, providers can begin estimating and documenting expenses incurred and lost revenues
related to their COVID-19 response. This could include costs related to delaying and cancelling non-emergency procedures, shifting types of service, providing free testing or screening, etc.
- Personal Protective Equipment: $16 billion is allocated to the Strategic National Stockpile to procure PPE, ventilators, and other medical supplies
for federal and state response efforts.
- Medicare Sequester Suspension: The Medicare sequester, which reduces payments to providers by 2%, is temporarily lifted from May through December 2020.
- Telehealth: The bill allows the HHS Secretary to waive additional requirements to increase Medicare flexibility during the emergency period; allows Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and Rural Health Clinics (RHC) to furnish telehealth
services in Medicare; increases Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant programs that promote the use of telehealth; among other provisions. The AMA overview has a detailed section on the telehealth provisions and their telemedicine guide has resources for providers implementing telemedicine. For specific questions on telehealth implementation or payment, visit the MMS COVID-19 webpage “Telehealth
and Virtual Care” or contact pprc@mms.org.
- Medical Students: Numerous student loan provisions will benefit medical students, including
deferring student loan payments and interest, loan flexibility for those who withdraw from school as a result of COVID-19, and work-study flexibility.
Updated March 31, 2020
