Arkansas Gets Federal OK for Covid-19 Health Worker Bonuses

Arkansas is ready to begin giving bonuses to health-care workers in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities after getting federal approval to use Medicaid dollars for those payments during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday.

The state will pay up to $250 per week for full-time direct-care workers in long-term care facilities or $500 per week in facilities with residents who have tested positive for Covid-19. So far, 28 nursing homes in the state have positive cases of the virus. The workers include nurses, nursing aides, home-health aides, assisted-living staff, hospice care workers, and respiratory therapists.

The ...