May 22, 2020 - Health

HHS watchdog to audit $50 billion in health care bailout funds

Orion Rummler

In this image, two doctors stand over a hospital bed — Nurses care for a coronavirus patient in the intensive care unit at Regional Medical Center on May 21 in San Jose, California. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Health and Human Services inspector general will begin examining how effectively the agency distributed $50 billion to health care providers to weather the coronavirus pandemic, the watchdog said on Friday.

The big picture: This oversight only captures a portion of one piece of the federal aid that hospitals and health care providers are eligible to receive.

Details: Hospitals can collect coronavirus funds through two primary sources, Axios' Bob Herman reports:

A $175 billion bailout fund that does not have to be repaid. The $50 billion being audited is part of this reserve.
Advance payments from Medicare that function as loans and must be repaid.

Between the lines: Critics — including small doctors' groups and Medicaid providers — have questioned whether federal officials are distributing the funds appropriately.

Go deeper: The hospitals that have disclosed bailout funds so far

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HHS watchdog to audit $50 billion in health care bailout funds

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