AHA asks for $25 billion as HHS releases $2 billion in provider relief funds
The AHA is also urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports of anticompetitive pricing by nurse-staffing agencies.
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As the American Hospital Association seeks at least $25 billion for hospitals to help combat workforce shortages and labor costs exacerbated by what the AHA called "exorbitant" rates on the part of some staffing agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services has released $2 billion in additional funding for hospitals.
The Health Resources and Services Administration is making more than $2 billion in Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 General Distribution payments to more than 7,600 providers across the country this week, HHS said, releasing the statement Tuesday as the AHA held a press call with hospital CEOs.
The AHA wants the remaining provider relief funds to be released and to add $25 billion to the fund, President and CEO Rick Pollack said, citing a Jan. 20 letter to Congress in which the request was made.
The AHA is also urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports of anticompetitive pricing by nurse staffing agencies. Price increases are two-to-three times more than they were prior to the pandemic, Pollack said, adding that there are reports that some of the agencies are keeping the additional profits, which add up to more than 30%.
In a November 2021 letter to COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator Jeffrey Zients, Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and David McKinley, R- W.Va., urged the White House to enlist federal agencies to investigate price-gouging by nurse staffing agencies.
The AHA has asked Congress to support hospitals and caregivers in must-pass legislation to fund the government beyond Feb. 18. Other requests are to extend Medicare sequester relief, give hospitals more time to repay accelerated and advance Medicare payments, and provide relief to certain 340B hospitals so they can remain eligible for the program.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Hospital CEOs who spoke Tuesday are Wright Lassiter, president and CEO of the Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, who is the 2022 chair of the AHA Board of Trustees; Bruce Flanz, president and CEO, MediSys Health Network, Queens, New York; and Ruby Kirby, CEO, West Tennessee Healthcare Bolivar and Camden Hospitals.
All said their hospitals are under stress from workforce shortages, higher labor costs, supply chain shortages, general inflation and loss of revenue from general procedures put on hold due to COVID-19 and lack of staffing.
"We have delayed about 400 procedures over 30 days due to lack of staffing," Lassiter said. None were delayed Tuesday morning, he added.
Lassiter said Henry Ford is seeing a decline in COVID-19 cases, but this is not a cause for celebration when 25% to 35% of ICU beds are dedicated to COVID-19 care and there has been a 600% increase in staff requesting employee assistance program support. Tuesday morning, 75 beds were closed due to staffing concerns as more than 300 employees were out of work due to exposure or a positive test. Ten days ago, that number was 589, he said.
Flanz said the number of cases in Queens, the epicenter for the pandemic when it started, is also "headed in the right direction."
Kirby said that rural communities can't take advantage of some of the federal and state resources because they don't meet the threshold for such aid as staffing from the National Guard.
THE LARGER TREND
The Health Resources and Services Administration is making more than $2 billion in Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 General Distribution payments to more than 7,600 providers across the country this week, HHS said. A total of nearly $11 billion in PRF Phase 4 payments, including Tuesday's $2 billion, has now been distributed to more than 74,000 providers in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five territories.
These payments come on the heels of the nearly $9 billion in funding that was already released by HHS in December 2021 and American Rescue Plan rural payments totaling nearly $7.5 billion in funding to more than 43,000 providers.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com
