Coronavirus Daily Update: Health Care Sector Received Most PPP Loans So Far

During this critical time, Home Health Care News remains committed to bringing you all the essential news related to home-based care operations. At the same time, we also recognize the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to our regular content, we’ll continue to highlight industry-related developments and mitigation strategies in this rolling bulletin.

What you need to know from Tuesday (July 7):

— Small businesses have another month to apply for loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). President Donald Trump extended the program deadline to August 8 over the weekend. There is still about $130 billion left in PPP funding available.

— The Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Treasury Department released a list of more than 650,000 PPP loan recipients on Monday. However, the list was not exhaustive: It only included companies that received more than $150,000, accounting for less than 15% of all loan recipients. Among those included were Kanye West’s clothing and sneaker brand Yeezy, Ice Cube’s professional basketball league and a number of large fast food franchises.

— While the SBA didn’t name all 5 million companies and organizations that have received PPP loans thus far, it did break loan recipients by the numbers. Turns out, health care and social services businesses have been the top recipients so far, accounting for about 12.9% of the $591 billion in loans paid out.

— April — when the coronavirus was at its peak — was a banner month for telehealth usage. Telehealth claim lines increase 8,336% nationally from April 2019 to April 2020, according to FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. A claim line is an individual service listed on an insurance claim. This comes after telehealth claim lines increased 4,347% from March 2019 to March 2020.

— Nursing homes workers were largely to blame for widespread facility outbreaks in New York, the state health department claimed in a report released Monday. The health department claimed facility staff — rather than residents — played the biggest role in spreading the virus throughout nursing homes.

What you need to know from Monday (July 6):

— The Trump Administration and CMS are taking additional steps to support access to home dialysis treatment, including newly proposed changes to the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS). The proposed changes build on President Donlad Trump’s previous Advancing American Kidney Health executive order. Specifically, CMS is proposing that certain new and innovative equipment and supplies used for dialysis treatment of patients with ESRD in the home would qualify for an additional Medicare payment. Currently, more than 85% of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with ESRD travel to a facility to receive their dialysis at least three times per week.

— Lawmakers in Colorado have approved a bill that will permanently expand telehealth coverage and access in the state, according to mHealthIntelligence. The bill requires the state Medicaid program to pay for telehealth services at rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers and the federal Indian Health Service at the same rate as in-person treatment. The bill also expands coverage to include home health and hospice care, among other services. The bill additionally allows home health care providers to supervise their own telehealth services.

Popular Reports

— Due to the coronavirus, essentially all in-person outpatient visits were canceled in many parts of the U.S. between February and May. As a result of those cancellations, primary care practices are estimated to lose $67,774 in gross revenue per full time physician in calendar year 2020. The financial impact of COVID-19 on primary care practices is being highlighted in an upcoming Health Affairs piece.

— Despite the appearance of a new coronavirus wave sweeping the nation, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Monday that the U.S. was still “knee-deep in the first wave.” Fauci’s remarks came in a conversation with Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health. A replay of that conversation is available here.

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