HHS on Friday announced it will begin sending $10 billion in grants to hospitals with more than 161 COVID-19 admissions through June 10.
The funds from the $175 billion Provider Relief Fund are distributed on a more up-to-date time frame since the first round of grants to high-impact areas in April.
Hospitals that had more than 161 COVID-19 admissions between January 1 and June 10 will be paid $50,000 for each COVID-19 admission. HHS asked hospitals to start submitting COVID-19 admission data on June 8.
HHS said that funds paid in the first $12 billion tranche of grants for hospitals in COVID-19 hot spots were taken into account in calculations for the second round. The first tranche was distributed to hospitals that had more than 100 COVID-19 admissions from January 1 through April 10, and paid $76,975 per admission.
Illinois was the top recipient in the second round of hot spot funds,with $740 million, followed by $684 million to New York and $655 million to Pennsylvania. A senior HHS official said the agency is still doing some last-minute data validation for $1.5 billion, which could shift those totals.
However, American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack said some of the most recent hot spots to emerge this summer weren't reflected in the second tranche.
"We look forward to working with the administration to ensure that additional relief will be distributed to 'hot spots' and all hospitals," Pollack said.
A senior administration official said that there will be "strong consideration" for additional funding for hot spots in the future.
HHS also announced that a deadline for Medicaid providers to apply for a separate $15 billion in relief funds was extended by two weeks. Applications are now due on August 3.
