Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer, member of the Senate Budget Committee, joined Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Tina Smith (D-MN) in calling on the Biden Administration to extend Provider Relief Fund (PRF) spending and repayment deadlines. In their letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, Bennet and his colleagues also urged the administration to give hospitals the flexibility they need to use these funds to cover future or current costs, especially as the health care workforce continues to face staffing shortages.
“We urge you to use the full extent of your authority to provide greater flexibility on the permissible uses of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) relief funding and to extend the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) spending and repayment deadlines,” wrote the senators.
“After two years of non-stop demands on doctors, nurses, and other health workers, they are exhausted and we are seeing the number of hospital staffed beds declining, risking patient safety. In response to the resulting workforce shortages, hospitals have had to hire temporary nurses and respiratory therapists from staffing agencies, which can more than double labor costs. Hospitals need flexibility in their PRF payment use to better offset the cost of staffing,” continued the senators.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act established the PRF in light of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to support hospital and provider response to the crisis. HHS allocated a total of $178 billion to providers, however if providers do not use their allocated funds by certain deadlines, they are required to return the money to HHS.
Many hospitals, especially smaller ones in rural areas, are managing the funds they received to ensure the money can cover the influx in costs caused by COVID-19 beyond one year, as they combat the different variants of the virus. In addition to covering expenses like salaries, rural hospitals are using PRF money to renovate buildings, which enables them to provide better care. In July 2021, Senators Cramer and Bennet introduced the Provider Relief Fund Deadline Extension Act to delay PRF repayment.
Click here to read the letter.