AAP says COVID-19 financial relief is on the way

In April, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide financial relief to practices that were struggling to meet monetary obligations because of COVID-19. On June 9, 2020, HHS responded and said that monetary aid was finally on the way.

In a letter to AAP members, president Sara H. Goza, MD, FAAP, announced the HHS’s plan, assured members that AAP was going to continue to advocate for them, and said that they would be reaching out to members over the next few days to cover eligibility status and also provide step-by-step instructions on how to get the financial help.¹

Not all of the plan’s specifics are known, but there AAP shared the following:

• The portal to apply for funding is available now.
• A total of $15 billion dollars was allocated for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program providers, which includes a number of specialty groups other than pediatrics. The allocation can also be accessed by providers who did not receive payment from the previous Provider Relief Fund general distribution.
• Providers who were given a payment from a targeted allocation, like the one for rural health clinics, are also eligible to apply for this funding.
• The allocation is not first come, first serve. All eligible providers who apply should expect to get funds.
• The expected payout should be at least 2% of reported gross revenues from patient care. There may be additional payments for certain situations, such as greater volume of Medicaid patients or greater loss of revenue.

Reference:

1. Goza SH. New financial relief available for pediatricians: message from the AAP president. Published June 9, 2020. Accessed June 10, 2020. https://contentsharing.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?ep=9baoVVftuXoWPkminnrpb1RHcz64U-ClaQF5yuMwRycm9ka_thzgxI99d5uwJUJW0zN6HEr1RwT46wiFTAv1OV-WOmSp79KxNEPgQwA-YRk82MLaDDYxJARJV1PXzeiaaU0xeGFLxZw-hAnAXc-25g~~