The Department of Health and Human Services said Friday it has begun distributing some $4.9 billion to nursing homes to help them combat the coronavirus pandemic and provide support for home facing higher expenses or revenue loss.
Each “skilled nursing facility” with six or more certified beds will receive $50,000, plus $2,500 per bed. The funds can be used to scale up testing, acquire personal protective equipment, hire workers or cover other pandemic-related expenses.
Trade groups representing nursing homes and long-term care facilities said the funding falls short of what they need. They have asked for at least $10 billion, according to The Hill.
At least 28,100 residents and workers at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have died from the coronavirus, according to a New York Times tally earlier this month.
