Hospitals at Risk of Lost Pandemic Money Need Help, Senators Say

The U.S. Senate and the nation’s hospitals are pushing the Trump administration to change new reporting requirements that could force some hospitals to return millions of dollars in CARES Act Provider Relief Fund grants.

On Friday, Senate Democrats and Republicans sent separate letters calling for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to take corrective action. They say the finances of Covid-battered rural and safety-net hospitals could be thrown into jeopardy by the technical changes HHS made to the definition and calculation of “expenses” and “lost revenue” attributable to Covid-19.

The changes to the post-payment reporting requirements for relief fund ...