Hospitals have received most of the loans from the Paycheck Protection Program
Healthcare and social assistance has so far received $67.4 billion of the $521 billion distributed by the program.
At 12.92%, the healthcare and social assistance sectors received the greatest percentage of loans in the Paycheck Protection Program, narrowly beating out the professional, scientific and technical services sector at 12.74%, according to new data released by the Trump Administration.
Healthcare and social assistance has so far received $67.4 billion of the $521 billion distributed by PPP, which has flowed into hospitals and physicians' offices as well as food banks and temporary housing organizations. Of all businesses receiving loans, the vast majority -- 86.5% -- received less than $150,000. The average loan size was about $107,000.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT
Hospitals were allocated $100 billion from the CARES Act and another $75 billion from the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act. They have received $50 billion in a general allocation and another $60 billion has been given out in targeted allocations for hot spot hospitals, tribal, rural, skilled nursing, safety net hospitals, sole Medicaid providers and to reimburse claims for COVID-19 treatment for uninsured patients.
The $75 billion earmarked in PPP funds was three-quarters of what hospitals requested.
Some hospitals, unable to meet payroll, have been forced to reduce expenses by furloughing staff and cutting physician salaries.
PPP, according to the report, supports more than 51 million jobs encompassing up to 84% of all small business employees. One quarter of all the jobs supported -- 13 million of them -- were in Historically Underutilized Business Zones, or HUB Zones.
Of the healthcare-related businesses that received loans topping $150,000, physicians' offices led the pack with more than 22,000 such businesses receiving hefty loans, with about 1,400 of them represented by mental health specialists.
Dentists came in second with almost 11,000 dentists' offices receiving $150,000+ loans, followed by other healthcare practitioners including chiropractors, optometrists and podiatrists (7,637), home healthcare services (7,407), skilled nursing facilities (6,248) and outpatient care centers (3,918).
Looking across all 50 states, and across all industries, between 72 and 96% of estimated small business payroll was covered by PPP loans, according to the report. At the high end of that spectrum is Florida at 96%, followed largely by Western and Midwestern states such as South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah and Idaho. Virginia was at the low end of the spectrum at 72%.
Banks represented the highest percentage of lenders, having so far distributed about $497 billion across nearly 4.5 million loans. Credit unions were a distant second at $9.7 billion across roughly 196,000 loans.
THE LARGER TREND
Congress has allocated $175 billion to date, though providers have not seen all of the funding. The CARES Act allocated $100 billion, and the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act added another $75 billion.
The Department of Health and Human Services has distributed $50 billion in a general allocation to hospitals and more than $60 billion in targeted relief to hot spot areas, tribal and rural hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, safety net hospitals and sole Medicaid providers.
HHS also allocated an unspecified amount to reimburse claims for COVID-19 treatment for uninsured patients.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
