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Another $131.5 million will be allocated to 121 Maine medical facilities in the third round of federal funding aimed at keeping them going through the coronavirus pandemic, Maine’s senators say.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding announced Friday comes atop two rounds of funding, totaling $187.8 million thus far, earmarked for Maine health care providers to help combat the impacts of COVID-19, U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced on Friday.
Signed into law by President Trump on March 27, the law provides $100 billion in relief to healthcare providers on the front lines of the coronavirus response nationwide. The funding will support expenses or lost revenue attributable to COVID-19 and allow uninsured Americans to get virus testing and treatment, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Keeping the doors open to rural hospitals is critical to helping protect the health of residents in the surrounding communities,” the senators said in a joint statement. “We will continue our efforts to provide doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals on the front lines with the resources they need to safely treat patients.”
It was not immediately clear whether Friday’s allocation would help keep afloat Calais Regional Hospital and Penobscot Valley Hospital of Lincoln. Both warned earlier this week they could both have to close their doors by the end of June if they don’t receive funding through a federal loan program meant to help small businesses keep their staff employed through the coronavirus crisis.
In separate lawsuits filed this week as part of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, both hospitals argued that they were being unlawfully barred from funds in another federal program because its rules disqualify entities that have filed for bankruptcy protection from receiving funds.
Maine’s rural acute care general hospitals and critical access hospitals will receive a minimum $1 million from this third round with additional payment based on operating expenses, according to the statement.
No timetable for the actual distribution of these funds has been announced.
The senators announced on Wednesday what they described as “an immediate infusion” of $42 million of pandemic funding via the CARES Act. Another $145 million for Maine health-care facilities was announced earlier this month.
Watch: Nirav Shah talks about the impact of coronavirus on rural Maine
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