WASHINGTON DC (June 11, 2020) — Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) today asked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a comprehensive public database of funds distributed from the CARES Act to health-care providers in the effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We write to you today regarding the need for increased transparency of funds distributed to health-care providers during the COVID-19 emergency. Congress has dedicated significant resources needed to help providers deal with the dire consequences of this unprecedented situation,” Sens Grassley and Wyden wrote. “We urge you to expeditiously establish a single, comprehensive and publicly-available data source that easily shows the amount of funding received by each provider.”
The bipartisan letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar comes as providers around the country have been allocated almost $210 billion to date through grants and loans to help fight the pandemic and keep their doors open. These funds have been allocated through programs created or expanded under the CARES Act and by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), including Provider Relief Fund grants and the Medicare accelerated and advance payment programs. The data released on this funding to date has been incomplete and fragmented, giving only a limited view into how much each provider has received.
The letter also calls on HHS to release additional details about the requirement that providers receiving more than $150,000 from HHS-administered COVID-19 funding sources must submit reports on the receipt and use of these funds. More comprehensive data are key to understanding the impact of Congress’ action and maintaining oversight of tax-payer dollars.
The full letter to Secretary Azar can be found HERE.
