Health Care Providers: Legal and Financial Updates about COVID-19

By: D. Sam Anderson, Jennifer Riggle, and Ovide Lamontagne

Health care providers are facing unprecedented pressure as a result of COVID-19 from a regulatory, financial, health care delivery and emotional perspective. Most health care providers are already aware of the COVID-19 related disaster relief that has been made available through various governmental loans and grants. Navigating these government programs and making decisions regarding managing cash flow to keep health care operations economically viable into the future, may involve careful balancing of, at times, competing interests.

The following sets forth a quick reference summary of certain of the programs available to health care providers:

• The Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services may reimburse “eligible health care providers” (broadly defined) for otherwise non-reimbursable expenses and lost revenues resulting from Covid-19.
• The CARES Act. Relief in the form of special loans (which loans may be forgiven in certain circumstances) administered by the Small Business Administration, for payroll, benefits, interest on certain mortgage obligations, rent obligations, and utility payments. The CARES Act also boosts unemployment eligibility and benefits by offering $600.00 per week in federal funding above state benefits.
• The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Financial assistance to employers, for expanded employee’ sick or family leave and unemployment benefits (except not applicable to health care providers deemed ‘exempt’ by their employers).
• Unemployment Benefits from State Labor Departments. Health care providers who are furloughed from work, and not deemed “exempt” may access immediate unemployment benefits.
• Medicare’s Accelerated and Advance Payment Program. CMS has expanded its loan program in relation to advancing Medicare payments to providers in order to address cash flow issues arising out of COVID-19.

Bottom Line

If you would like to discuss any of these available resources, or would like guidance regarding options for addressing the cash flow or financial structure of your health care business, the attorneys at Bernstein Shur are available for you.

You can contact Sam Anderson (Business Insolvency and Restructuring) at sanderson@bernsteinshur.com; Jennifer Riggle (Business and Health Care Industry Practice Groups) at jriggle@bernsteinshur.com; or Ovide Lamontagne (Business and Health Care Industry Practice Groups) at olamontagne@bernsteinshur.com.