U.S. Will Pay Hospitals To Treat Uninsured Coronavirus Patients

U.S. Will Pay Hospitals To Treat Uninsured Coronavirus Patients

The Trump administration announced on Friday that it will pay hospitals to treat uninsured coronavirus patients, a persistent problem in America that has been magnified in light of the global pandemic.

The government will pay for the costs of treating uninsured patients with a $US100 ($167) billion fund for hospitals established by the $US2.2 ($4) trillion stimulus package, known as the CARES Act, approved last week. The government said that hospitals that get funding would not be allowed to send patients additional bills for the treatment provided.

[referenced url=” thumb=” title=” excerpt=”]

“This should alleviate any concern uninsured Americans may have about seeking the coronavirus treatment,” President Donald Trump said on Friday.

Hospitals will be paid the same rates they receive for Medicare patients, according to the New York Times, which are lower rates than those typically paid by private insurance companies.

Recently, the Trump administration had also been facing criticism for not creating a special enrollment period for people that seek insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Reopening the marketplace, which the government controls in 38 states, would have made it easier for people who have recently lost their jobs or were already uninsured to obtain coverage. More than 6.65 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week—a historic high more than double that of the previous week.

In its November 2019 report, the U.S. Census Bureau found that 27.5 million people, or 8.5 per cent of the population, did not have health insurance the year before.

Per the Times, the Trump administration says that its plan is more efficient than reopening enrollment under the Affordable Care Act to achieve the same goal.

Although hospitals welcomed the relief provided for them by the CARES Act, some did not think that the Trump administration should have paid for treatment for uninsured patients with the $US100 ($167) billion fund.

In a statement, Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, said his group had encouraged the Trump administration to consider various options for treating uninsured coronavirus patients besides the CARES Act, including opening a special enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces, expanding Medicaid or using other emergency programs.

Pollack said that the CARES Act was intended to provide hospitals with an infusion of financial relief given that many are incurring substantial expenses to prepare for and deal with the covid-19 outbreak. He added that since nearly all regular operations had come to a halt, such as elective or scheduled procedures, there were “limited revenues coming in, causing major cash flow concerns that threaten the viability of hospitals.”

“This is also creating a historic financial crisis, threatening the ability to keep our doors open for both the insured and uninsured alike,” Pollack said.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.