Kaptur, Gibbs Introduce Bipartisan COVID-19 Hospital and Health Provider Loan Conversion Act
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Congressman Bob Gibbs (R-OH) introduced legislation to provide financial relief for hospitals hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 Hospital and Health Provider Loan Conversion Act will convert the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment loans to grants for hospitals and healthcare providers.
After being forced to drastically scale back non-COVID-19 capabilities in preparation for the pandemic, many hospitals are continuing to face dire financial circumstances while struggling to return to normal and repay these loans at the same time, which has the potential to cripple health care providers as Medicare payments are withheld until those advanced payments are repaid. Converting these loans to grants for such a critical industry is vital to minimize the long term financial and public health impact as studies show hospitals nationwide have lost as much as $60 billion a month.
"The COVID-19 Hospital Loan Conversion Act will provide immediate, vitally needed relief to hospitals and health care providers struggling financially as a result of the coronavirus pandemic," said Rep. Kaptur. "Our nations' hospitals have sacrificed heavily in the last year. They've canceled countless elective surgeries at the government's request, have ramped up ICU capacity, and much more. This major shift has put some of America's hospitals on the brink of financial disaster. legislation will provide Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments loan conversion to grants to ensure hospitals receive the financial support they need. We cannot afford to have any hospital close or significantly scale back operations. I thank my colleague Representative Bob Gibbs for his bipartisan work on this important issue."
"As the coronavirus emerged in the United States and the entire nation shifted their efforts to address the pandemic, our hospitals and healthcare providers became the front line of the battle," said Congressman Bob Gibbs. "At government's request, they invested heavily to prepare and provide the necessary capacity for a potential surge in COVID-19 cases. This has created a dramatic impact on some hospital's ability to continue providing care for the communities they serve. Without an option for loan conversion, we could see hospital closures around the country, leaving communities without easy access to critical care. I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Kaptur for recognizing the potential catastrophe and working to find a bipartisan solution to it."
The text of the bill can be found here.
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