Targeted Distribution Questions

HHS made payments in this second round of COVID-19 High Impact Area Targeted Distribution based on a formula for hospitals with a COVID-19 admission count over 160 between January 1 and June 10, 2020, or the facility experienced an above average intensity of COVID admission per bed (at least 0.54864). Hospitals were paid $50,000 per eligible admission from January 1 through June 10. HHS also took into account previous High Impact Area payments for those hospitals that received initial payments from this Targeted Distribution.

(Added 7/22/2020)

HHS is distributing $10 billion in payments to over 1,000 hospitals in areas heavily impacted by COVID-19 in this second round of targeted distribution payments.

(Added 7/22/2020)

This round of Targeted Distribution payments provides relief for over 83% of inpatient COVID-19 admissions through June 10 at $50,000 per admission, taking into account previous High Impact Area payments. Those hospitals treating inpatient COVID-19 positive admissions have experienced a large increase in expenses due to staffing costs, personal protective equipment costs, protocol changes, re-training, and general system changes.

(Added 7/22/2020)

The first round of funding was based on a formula that distributed funds to hospitals with 100 or more COVID-19 admissions between January 1 and April 10, 2020 and paid $76,975 per eligible admission. The second round of funding was based on a formula for hospitals with over 161 COVID-19 admissions between January 1 and June 10, 2020, or one admission per day, or that experienced a disproportionate intensity of COVID admissions (exceeding the average ratio of COVID admissions/bed). Hospitals will be paid $50,000 per eligible admission. This previous high impact payments were also taken into account when determining each hospital’s payment in this second round distribution.

(Updated 7/22/2020)

In allocating the funds, the Administration is working to address both the economic harm across the entire healthcare system due to COVID-19 and the economic impact on providers directly treating patients with COVID-19. The distribution takes into consideration the challenges faced by facilities serving a significantly disproportionate number of low-income patients and that inpatient admissions are a primary driver of costs to hospitals related to COVID-19.

(Added 5/12/2020)

Providers should update their capacity and COVID-19 census data to ensure that HHS can make timely payments in the event that the provider becomes a High Impact Area provider. Providers can continue to update their information through the same method they used previously.

(Updated 6/8/2020)