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The Trump administration confirmed Wednesday that the government will devote an unspecified amount of federal aid to help hospitals cope with the expense of treating covid-19 patients who are uninsured. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced the payments for patients without health coverage as part of several strands of funding the government will distribute from a federal relief package to hospitals and other health-care facilities and practitioners overwhelmed financially by the coronavirus pandemic. (Goldstein, 4/22)

The disbursal will include $20 billion more for providers based on their recent revenues and $10 billion for hospitals in areas hard-hit by the virus, as well as $10 billion for the roughly 2,000 rural hospitals and health clinics. More funding is coming: The Senate on Tuesday passed a new package with as much as $75 billion in fresh aid for hospitals and providers. Hospitals, especially those in areas hit hard by the pandemic, are straining under the influx of patients with Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, and the financial demands of emergency procurement of supplies such as personal protective equipment. Facilities in less stressed areas, meantime, are seeing revenues hammered by elective surgery delays and a decline in patients, who are afraid of contracting the virus in health-care facilities. (Armour, 4/22)

"It will be a significant infusion of money for high impact areas," Azar said during a call with reporters. Hospitals in those hard-hit areas have until April 23 at midnight to apply for the funding. Hospitals in New York, which have seen the highest number of COVID-19 cases, will receive about $4.4 billion, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. (Weixel, 4/22)

HHS officials Wednesday said the department will distribute $40 billion in federal grant funds with carveouts for providers in COVID-19 hotspots and rural areas, and will reimburse providers for uncompensated COVID-19 care. Roughly $20 billion will go out providers generally based on 2018 net patient revenue from cost reports. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the funds would be distributed for about half of providers on Friday. A portal will open up this week for providers to enter or confirm their revenue numbers. (Cohrs, 4/22)

The team in charge of monitoring Medicare's solvency kept its projection that the Part A trust fund's reserves will run out in 2026, although the COVID-19 pandemic could speed that up. That prediction is unchanged from the trustees' past two annual reports to Congress. Medicare covered about 62 million Americans last year. The 2020 report has an elephant in the room: It doesn't factor in the effects of COVID-19 on Medicare spending. Senior administration officials acknowledged the global pandemic will "no question" have a negative effect on the reserve funds of both Medicare and Social Security. (Bannow and Brady, 4/22)

The CMS issued guidance this week allowing independently owned freestanding emergency departments to temporarily participate in Medicare and Medicaid. The guidance is a way to expand capacity for hospital services as providers see an influx of patients with COVID-19, the agency said in a press release. (Castellucci, 4/22)

Texas’ freestanding emergency rooms will temporarily be eligible to receive federal reimbursement to care for Medicare and Medicaid recipients under guidance issued Tuesday by the Trump administration. The move is aimed at easing some of the burden on hospitals, which in other parts of the country have been overwhelmed by patients seeking treatment for COVID-19, the diseases caused by the coronavirus. (Wu, 4/22)

The CMS on Tuesday approved a Medicaid Section 1115 emergency waiver for Washington state, making it the first state to get approval. Under the waiver, Washington will be able to target Medicaid services to areas hit hard by COVID-19 rather than deliver services evenly across the state. The state can also differentiate and target specific populations affected by the virus and "triage access to long-term services and supports based on highest need," the CMS wrote in its approval letter. (Brady, 4/22)

Many people are being met with surprise bills from coronavirus treatment that cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, as patients battle with their insurers. “I could have chosen not to do all this, and put countless others at risk,” said Andrew Cencini, who told Kaiser Health News he was tested for COVID-19 in a New York emergency room. “But I was trying to do the right thing.” (Stunson, 4/22)