The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has sent healthcare providers about $34 billion in accelerated payments over the past week, the agency said Tuesday.
CMS first announced this new relief effort on March 30 as a means to help physician practices smooth over cash flow issues during the pandemic. Since then, the feds have received more than 25,000 requests for advanced or accelerated payments through the Medicare program.
Officials estimated that CMS is now processing provider payments in four to six days, rather than the typical weeks-long process.
“Healthcare providers are making massive financial sacrifices to care for the influx of coronavirus patients,” Administrator Seema Verma said in an April 7 statement, noting that many are postponing nonurgent care and giving up important revenue streams. “They shouldn’t be penalized for doing the right thing. Amid a public health storm of unprecedented fury, these payments are helping providers and suppliers—so critical to defeating this terrible virus—stay afloat,” she added.
Nearly 70% of applicants, or about 17,000, have already received approval from CMS as of Tuesday. The agency had only approved about 100 of such requests over the previous five years prior to the pandemic—typically tied to hurricanes or other natural disasters, according to the announcement.
These advanced payments are going to both providers in Medicare Part A, including hospitals, along with docs, suppliers and others who use Part B. CMS emphasized that the funds are loans that radiologists and others will need to pay back within a year of receipt, in most instances.
The agency also noted that accelerated payment funds are separate from the $100 billion in provider grants available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Verma said she hopes to begin distributing $30 billion of those dollars this week, which do not require repayment.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.