Report: Michigan hospitals shorted $130K per COVID-19 patient in federal aid [View all]

[demmiblue]

It was meant to be a financial booster shot, a way to help hospitals and health care systems survive the economic onslaught that COVID-19 brought.

But a new report analyzing how federal coronavirus relief money was distributed shows stark disparities in which states got the biggest portions of $175 billion in aid from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Hospitals in the states hardest hit by the virus in March and April — New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania — got the least amount of federal support per patient, according to a 17-page report released Tuesday by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

States with the fewest cases got the most federal aid per confirmed case of COVID-19.

Michigan got almost $130,000 less per patient than the national average, according to the report, which analyzed CARES Act funds and coronavirus case counts as of April 10.

While the national average in federal assistance per patient was $160,286, Michigan’s allotment was just $31,045 per patient.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/health/2020/06/24/michigan-gets-less-per-patient-than-other-states-federal-cares-act-covid-relief/3246835001/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot