April 2, 2020 / RACHEL COHRS
Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that the Trump administration is considering using $100 billion that Congress designated for hospital relief to pay for COVID-19 treatment for the uninsured.
“The White House Coronavirus Task Force is working on a proposal for the president to use some of the $100 billion we are making available to hospitals to compensate the hospitals directly for any coronavirus treatment they provide to uninsured Americans,” Pence said.
Choosing to use the provider reimbursement fund to pay for treatment for the uninsured instead of reopening enrollment for the Affordable Care Act exchanges could potentially shift costs from insurers to hospitals and siphon hospital funds away from a hotspot like New York toward states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act such as Florida and Texas.
