Distribution of Nursing Homes
COVID-19 Funding
At the beginning of August 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a targeted distribution of $5 billion to nursing homes related to infection control. On August 27, 2020, HHS began distributing the first $2.5 billion in funding (each nursing facility will receive $10,000 plus a per-bed payment of $1,450) to support testing, staffing, and personal protective equipment (PPE) needs. HHS plans to distribute another $2 billion to nursing homes in the fall for performance in improving safety and minimizing COVID-19 spread and COVID-19 related deaths among residents and training, mentorship, and instruction on infection prevention and control in the nursing home. The exact performance indicators will be shared in the future by HHS.
The nursing homes infection control distribution can only be used for expenses described in the Terms and Conditions. Some of these costs include, but are not limited to:
- Administering COVID-19 testing for both residents and staff
- Reporting COVID-19 test results to local, state, and federal governments
- Hiring staff to provide patient care or administrative support
- Expenses to improve infection control
- Infection control “mentorship” programs with experts
- Physical facility changes
- Additional resident services (technology to connect with their families)
This distribution supplements the $4.9 billion Skilled Nursing Facility Targeted Distribution. Due to the limits on the use of the funds from this distribution, the Terms and Conditions differ from those of the Skilled Nursing Facility Targeted Distribution. Nursing facilities are prohibited from taking any actions that are inconsistent with the best interests of its residents in order to increase potential future outcome-based payments based on the nursing facility’s successful infection control outcomes.
