Health Care Providers Receive $164.5M in Aid

New Hampshire health care providers received $164.5 million on Friday (April 10) from an initial installment of health care provider grants established under the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was recently passed by Congress and signed into law.

According to a statement, NH’s Congressional delegation pushed to improve the legislation, boosting funding for health care providers by $25 billion. In total, the law includes $100 billion for health care providers, the first $30 billion of which was dispersed to providers throughout the country Friday.

“New Hampshire hospitals, physicians, nursing facilities, community health centers, and other health care providers have been pleading for funding to keep the doors open and deal with increased expenses and revenue shortfalls due to COVID-19. The federal dollars dispersed today could not have come soon enough,” said U.S. Senator Shaheen (D-NH). “I fought for this investment in health care provider grants and refused to walk away from the negotiating table until I was sure it was the best possible deal to help New Hampshire providers and communities mitigate the health and economic hardships caused by the coronavirus outbreak.”

“New Hampshire’s front-line health care workers are working around the clock to confront COVID-19, but they are in desperate need of additional resources in order to keep up with the increasing demand,” said U. S. Senator Hassan. “This additional federal funding will help New Hampshire health care providers treat more patients and make up some of the losses from canceling non-elective procedures. However, we know that more federal funding will be necessary in order to combat this public health emergency, and ensure that New Hampshire citizens continue to have access to quality health care.” 

In addition to the CARES Act, the delegation fought for two economic response bills to provide financial relief to states in their response efforts, and to support workers, businesses, and families affected by the coronavirus crisis. The first economic package gave NH $4.9 million in funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.