Schatz: Hawai‘i Receiving $58 Million In New Federal Funding To Support Rural Hospitals And Community Health Centers And Cover Cost Of COVID-19 Care, Testing, Treatment
HONOLULU – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced that Hawai‘i will receive $58 million in new federal funding to support 56 rural hospitals and community health centers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The funds will cover lost revenue due to delayed or canceled non-emergent services or procedures, as well as additional health care expenses attributable to the coronavirus, including testing, treating patients, and instituting preventive measures.
“Rural hospitals and health care providers across Hawai‘i provide essential primary care and other health care services to thousands of Hawai‘i families,” said Senator Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This new federal funding will help our state’s rural health care providers so that they can weather this pandemic and continue to provide high quality care.”
The new funding is part of the $100 billion grant program for health care providers in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Recipients of this allocation for rural providers include rural acute care general hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), and Community Health Centers (CHCs) located in rural areas. RHCs and CHCs will receive a minimum of $100,000, and rural acute care hospitals and CAHs will receive a minimum of $1 million, with additional payment based on annual operating expenses.
In addition to the funding announced today, over 1,700 health care providers in Hawai‘i have already received more than $165 million through this program. The recently enacted Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act included an additional $75 billion in grants for health care providers as well as $25 billion specifically for testing.
More information on federal support for Hawai‘i health care providers can be found on Senator Schatz’s online resource guide: schatz.senate.gov/coronavirus.
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