Advocacy & Practice Updates — Advocacy & Practice
CMS Plans to Distribute $30 Billion from CARES Act Fund This Week
CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced on April 7 that the agency will automatically distribute this week $30 billion of the $100 billion fund to reimburse providers for COVID-19 related expenses and lost revenue as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Administrator stated that these payments are not loans and will have “no strings attached.” They are not on a first-come-first served basis and are separate from the Medicare Advanced Payment Program and the Small Business Administration (SBA) loans under the Paycheck Protection Program. Most Medicare providers should receive the payments via direct deposit automatically. ASRS joined an AMA-led coalition letter requesting the emergency payments and recommending a formula for calculating them. More detail will be provided in the coming days.
(Published 4.8.20)