Hospitals Ask HHS for Covid Data Guidance With Funding at Stake

Hospitals say they’re driving blind without guidelines to interpret a new rule from the Trump administration requiring them to report daily Covid-19 data to the federal government.

The interim final rule, which took effect Sept. 2, requires the nation’s 6,200 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified hospitals to provide daily updates to the Department of Health and Human Services on numerous Covid-related measures like infections, test results, ICU patient counts, and supplies of protective gear.

Hospitals risk being excluded from both federal health programs if they fail to comply with the new “conditions of participation.” “Hospitals will face possible ...