WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema urged the administration to distribute CARES Act funding and other coronavirus relief to Arizona’s children’s hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic. Congressionally appropriated coronavirus relief funding would help Arizona’s children’s hospitals deal with the additional costs associated with treating coronavirus patients and acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE).
“Arizona children’s hospitals need critical coronavirus resources to continue treating children with COVID-19 and other illnesses, get crucial personal protection equipment, and keep their doors open during this global pandemic,” said Sinema.
The CARES Act and the subsequent Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act provided a combined $175 billion to the provider health care relief fund as a part of the coronavirus response. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has disbursed $116 billion to hospitals and individual providers based on the number of Medicare patients treated, putting children’s hospitals at a disadvantage since they rarely bill Medicare.
Although children are less affected by COVID-19 than other patient populations, children’s hospitals still incur increased costs due to acquiring additional PPE. At the same time, children with respiratory conditions or immunodeficiencies still remain at risk from COVID-19 complications.
In June, Sinema successfully called on the administration to distribute an additional $15 billion to eligible providers participating in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) who have not previously received provider relief funding.
Sinema has also added a resources page to her website, www.sinema.senate.gov/corona, with specific resources for Arizonans looking for the latest information on coronavirus.
