To learn more about each funding stream, select from the drop-down menu below:
Program Details
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) was appropriated funds from the State Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency Fund pursuant to Public Act 101-0637, Article 30 (the “Act”). These funds are intended to support health care
providers that are providing care to recipients under the Medical Assistance Program and responding to COVID-19 by providing an infusion of funds for health care expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic and expenditures made despite losses of revenue
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The State CARES Pandemic Related Stability Payments Program for Funds Made Available Through the Federal CARES Act (the “HFS CARES Program”) operated by HFS provides for the expeditious and targeted distribution of these
funds to Medicaid healthcare providers enrolled with HFS that have been economically injured by COVID-19.
Payments shall be exclusively for expenses incurred between March 1 and December 30, 2020 related to the pandemic associated with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency issued by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) on January 31, 2020 and the national emergency issued by the President of the United States on March 13, 2020.
Upon submission of an application, applicants should allow ten business days for review and may receive requests for additional information during this period. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the application following review. If successful,
applicants will be required to sign and submit the Subaward Agreement to HFS within ten business days. Subaward payments will not be issued before the signed Subaward Agreement is received. Applications are due by October 31, 2020.
To be eligible for the HFS CARES Program, providers must be enrolled in the IMPACT system prior to March 1, 2020 and have been paid for a minimum threshold of Medicaid services. Providers must also provide a full accounting and disclosure of Federal
and State grants received or earmarked from CARES or related COVID-19 funding for calendar year 2020.
FUNDS WILL BE PRIORITIZED FOR MEDICAID SERVING PROVIDERS AND TO FILL GAPS NOT ADDRESSED BY OTHER RESOURCES. AT LEAST 30 PERCENT OF THE FUNDS WILL BE ALLOCATED TO HIGH IMPACT AREAS OF THE STATE.
Long-Term Care Facilities Assistance
Overview
This funding stream is designed to support providers of long-term care services including those offering services to disproportionately impacted areas based on positive COVID-19 cases per Sections 35 and 36 of the Act. This funding source excludes Specialized
Mental Health Rehabilitation Facilities as those facilities received a specific appropriation under the Act. Funds are intended to be used to cover COVID-19 pandemic related health care expenses and expenditures made despite losses of revenue due
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for financial assistance from this funding stream, you must be a registered Medicaid provider in the State of Illinois who has experienced economic hardship in the form of increased health care expenses, planned expenditures to respond
to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or decreased utilization and revenues as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following provider types may be eligible for this funding stream:
Nursing Homes
Home Health Agencies
Supportive Living Program providers
Intermediate Care Facilities for individuals with Development Disabilities (“ICF/DD”)
Skilled Nursing Facilities
Community Integrated Living Arrangements (“CILA”)
Medically Complex for the Developmentally Disabled facilities (“MC/DDs”)
Allowable Expenditures
Payments shall be exclusively for expenses incurred related to the pandemic associated with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency issued by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on January 31,
2020 and the national emergency issued by the President of the United States on March 13, 2020 between March 1 and December 30, 2020. Funds are intended to be used to cover COVID-19 pandemic related health care expenses and expenditures made despite
losses of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible expenses include:
Acquisition and distribution of durable medical equipment and consumable medical supplies (and disposal), personal protective equipment (PPE), or infection control supplies
General COVID-19 testing, screening, treatment, contact tracing, and isolation expenditures and general healthcare operational and infrastructure expenses
Expenses related to case identification, monitoring, timely reporting of case data, contact identification, disease transmission characterization, and tracking of relevant epidemiological characteristics including hospitalization and death
Coordination of public health messaging and emergency public information efforts
Payroll, hazard pay, and benefit costs
Telework and telemedicine
Construction costs associated with establishing temporary health facilitates, improving mitigation measures, expansion of testing access in the community through the use of “pop-up test sites” and increasing treatment capacity
Sanitization and social distancing expenses
Employee training necessary due to public health emergency
Emergency medical response, including emergency medical transport
Utilities
Rent, mortgage, lease payments
Award Value
Awards for Long Term Care Facilities will occur in three phases:
First round of awards issued prior to the application based award process which was based on a formula developed by HFS which estimates increased costs associated for three months of hazard pay, adjusted for statutory constraints. This formula considers
facility level Medicaid census data during COVID-19’s wave 1 peak, the facility type, concentration of COVID-19 infections in the general population in each facility’s zip code, average Statewide staffing during COVID-19’s wave 1 peak and actual
facility spending on added staffing costs since the onset of COVID-19.
Second round of awards based on application as well as formulaic Maximum Funding Eligibilities (“MFE”) developed by HFS which will evaluate Medicaid census data and data reported by applicants regarding the costs associated with their response to
COVID-19, their planned costs to continue to respond to and prepare for additional waves of COVID-19 infection, decreased utilization and revenues as a result of COVID-19 and other COVID-19 funding received from Federal, State or other agency sources.
Any subsequent round of awards to distribute any remaining funds based on HFS’ assessment and allocation of funds to cover incurred and planned expenses not met by the funding received in the first round and second round awards for approved applicants.
Additional Disclosures
By submitting a request for funding assistance, you understand, and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of a Subaward Agreement between you and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services if you accept awarded funds. An example
of the Subaward Agreement, including its terms and conditions can be found here. Here are some additional details about the funding source for the HFS CARES Program:
Federal award identification: Coronavirus Relief Fund
FAIN number: SLT0042
Federal award date: April 16, 2020
Federal award project description: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") established the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund ("the Fund"). Payments must be used for necessary expenditures incurred due to the public
health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) between March 1, 2020, to December 30, 2020. Payments must be used to cover costs that were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020. Governments
otherwise have broad discretion to utilize payments for expenditures ranging from COVID-19 testing to reimbursing small businesses for the costs of business interruption caused by required closures.
Federal awarding agency: U.S. Dept. of the Treasury
Pass-through entity: Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
CFDA Number: 21.019
CFDA name: Coronavirus Relief Fund
R&D designation: Non R&D
Federally Qualified Health Center Assistance
Overview
This funding stream is designed to provide support to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), Encounter Rate Clinics and Rural Health Centers including those that serve disproportionately impacted areas based on positive COVID-19 cases per Sections
40 and 41 of the Act. Funds are intended to be used to cover COVID-19 pandemic related health care expenses and expenditures made despite losses of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for financial assistance from this funding stream, you must be an enrolled Medicaid provider in the State of Illinois who has experienced economic hardship in the form of increased health care expenses, planned expenditures to respond
to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or decreased utilization and revenues as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Allowable Expenditures
Payments shall be exclusively for expenses incurred related to the pandemic associated with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency issued by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on January 31,
2020 and the national emergency issued by the President of the United States on March 13, 2020 between March 1 and December 30, 2020. Funds are intended to be used to cover COVID-19 pandemic related health care expenses and expenditures made despite
losses of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible expenses include:
Acquisition and distribution of durable medical equipment and consumable medical supplies (and disposal), personal protective equipment (PPE), or infection control supplies
General COVID-19 testing, screening, treatment, contact tracing, and isolation expenditures and general healthcare operational and infrastructure expenses
Expenses related to case identification, monitoring, timely reporting of case data, contact identification, disease transmission characterization, and tracking of relevant epidemiological characteristics including hospitalization and death
Coordination of public health messaging and emergency public information efforts
Payroll, hazard pay, and benefit costs
Telework and telemedicine
Construction costs associated with establishing temporary health facilitates, improving mitigation measures, expansion of testing access in the community through the use of “pop-up test sites” and increasing treatment capacity
Sanitization and social distancing expenses
Employee training necessary due to public health emergency
Emergency medical response, including emergency medical transport
Utilities
Rent, mortgage, lease payments
Award Value
Awards for Federally Qualified Health Centers will occur in three phases:
First round of awards issued prior to the application based award process using a formula developed by HFS to allocate one third of the appropriated funds based on each Federally Qualified Health Center’s relative proportion of calendar year 2019
Medicaid revenues.
Second round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will determine a Maximum Funding Eligibility (“MFE”) based on the calendar year 2019 Medicaid claims revenue of the expected applicant population. The MFE will be reviewed and assessed
against the economic hardship experienced by each provider and any additional Federal, State or other COVID-19 related funding received by each provider to determine the actual award amount.
Any subsequent round of awards to distribute any remaining funds based on HFS’ assessment and allocation of funds to cover incurred and planned expenses not met by the funding received in the first round and second round awards.
Additional Disclosures
By submitting a request for funding assistance, you understand, and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of a Subaward Agreement between you and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services if you accept awarded funds. An example
of the Subaward Agreement, including its terms and conditions can be found here. Here are some additional details about the funding source for the HFS CARES Program:
Federal award identification: Coronavirus Relief Fund
FAIN number: SLT0042
Federal award date: April 16, 2020
Federal award project description: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") established the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund ("the Fund"). Payments must be used for necessary expenditures incurred due to the public
health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) between March 1, 2020, to December 30, 2020. Payments must be used to cover costs that were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020. Governments
otherwise have broad discretion to utilize payments for expenditures ranging from COVID-19 testing to reimbursing small businesses for the costs of business interruption caused by required closures.
Federal awarding agency: U.S. Dept. of the Treasury
Pass-through entity: Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
CFDA Number: 21.019
CFDA name: Coronavirus Relief Fund
R&D designation: Non R&D
Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Facilities
Overview
This funding stream is designed to provide support to Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Facilities. Funds per Section 50 of the Act. Funds are intended to be used to cover COVID-19 pandemic related health care and expenditures made despite losses
of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for financial assistance from this funding stream, you must be a registered Medicaid provider in the state of Illinois who has experienced economic hardship in the form of increased health care expenses, planned expenditures to respond
to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or decreased utilization and revenues as a direct result of COVID-19.
Allowable Expenditures
Payments shall be exclusively for expenses incurred related to the pandemic associated with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency issued by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on January 31,
2020 and the national emergency issued by the President of the United States on March 13, 2020 between March 1, and December 30, 2020. Funds are intended to be used to cover COVID-19 pandemic related health care expenses and expenditures made despite
losses of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible expenses include:
Acquisition and distribution of durable medical equipment and consumable medical supplies (and disposal), personal protective equipment (PPE), or infection control supplies
General COVID-19 testing, screening, treatment, contact tracing, and isolation expenditures and general healthcare operational and infrastructure expenses
Expenses related to case identification, monitoring, timely reporting of case data, contact identification, disease transmission characterization, and tracking of relevant epidemiological characteristics including hospitalization and death
Coordination of public health messaging and emergency public information efforts
Payroll, hazard pay, and benefit costs
Telework and telemedicine
Construction costs associated with establishing temporary health facilitates, improving mitigation measures, expansion of testing access in the community through the use of “pop-up test sites” and increasing treatment capacity
Sanitization and social distancing expenses
Employee training necessary due to public health emergency
Emergency medical response, including emergency medical transport
Utilities
Rent, mortgage, lease payments
Award Value
Awards for Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Facilities will occur in three phases:
First round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which estimates increased costs associated for hazard pay, adjusted for statutory constraints. This formula considers facility level Medicaid census data during COVID-19’s wave 1 peak, the
facility type, concentration of COVID-19 infections in the general population in each facility’s zip code, average statewide staffing during COVID-19’s wave 1 peak and actual facility spending on added staffing costs since the onset of COVID-19.
Second round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will evaluate Medicaid census data and data reported by applicants regarding the costs associated with their response to COVID-19, their planned costs to continue to respond to and prepare
for additional waves of COVID-19 infection, decreased utilization and revenues as a result of COVID-19 and other COVID-19 funding received from federal, state or other agency sources.
Any subsequent round of awards to distribute any remaining funds based on HFS’ assessment and allocation of funds to cover incurred and planned expenses not met by the funding received in the first round and second round awards.
Additional Disclosures
By submitting a request for funding assistance, you understand, and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of a Subaward Agreement between you and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services if you accept awarded funds. An example
of the Subaward Agreement, including its terms and conditions can be found here. Here are some additional details about the funding source for the HFS CARES Program:
Federal award identification: Coronavirus Relief Fund
FAIN number: SLT0042
Federal award date: April 16, 2020
Federal award project description: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") established the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund ("the Fund"). Payments must be used for necessary expenditures incurred due to the public
health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) between March 1, 2020, to December 30, 2020. Payments must be used to cover costs that were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020. Governments
otherwise have broad discretion to utilize payments for expenditures ranging from COVID-19 testing to reimbursing small businesses for the costs of business interruption caused by required closures.
Federal awarding agency: U.S. Dept. of the Treasury
Pass-through entity: Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
CFDA Number: 21.019
CFDA name: Coronavirus Relief Fund
R&D designation: Non R&D
Other Medical Assistance Providers
Overview
This funding stream is designed to provide support to ambulance providers and other medical assistance providers, excluding Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Facilities per Section 45 of the Act. Funds are intended to be used to cover COVID-19
pandemic related health care expenses and expenditures made despite losses of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for financial assistance from this funding stream, you must be a registered Medicaid provider in the state of Illinois who has experienced economic hardship in the form of increased health care expenses, planned expenditures to respond
to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or decreased utilization and revenues as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following provider types may be eligible for this funding stream:
Community Behavioral Health and Substance Use Treatment facilities
Dental providers
All other registered Medicaid providers who do not qualify as a Long Term Care Facility, Federally Qualified Health Center, Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Facility or one of the aforementioned categories above
Additional eligibility criteria apply to the following specific provider types:
Hospitals: Hospitals that have received 20% or more of either their 2018 or 2019 net patient care revenue in other CARES Act or COVID-19 related funding, from Federal, State or other sources may not be eligible for the HFS CARES Program.
Physicians:
Only those physicians and physician groups which currently receive payment directly from the Medicaid program are eligible to apply for assistance.
HFS will determine the per physician number of Medicaid claims submitted and the Medicaid revenue received in calendar year 2019. Only those physicians and physician groups who meet or exceed certain benchmarks, as determined by HFS, of at least
one of these measures are eligible for the HFS CARES Program.
Priority will be given to high volume Medicaid providers. Providers who have not performed a significant amount of Medicaid services may not receive any CARES funds.
Community Behavioral Health and Substance Use Treatment providers: Entities which received specific line item appropriations from the State of Illinois are not eligible for the HFS CURE Program.
Other provider types: HFS will determine the per provider number of Medicaid services provided and Medicaid revenue received in calendar year 2019. Only those providers or provider groups who meet or exceed certain benchmarks, as determined by HFS,
of at least one of these measures are eligible for the HFS CARES Program.
Priority will be given to high volume Medicaid providers. Providers who have not performed a significant amount of Medicaid services may not receive any CARES funds.
Allowable Expenditures
Payments shall be exclusively for expenses incurred related to the pandemic associated with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency issued by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on January 31,
2020 and the national emergency issued by the President of the United States on March 13, 2020 between March 1, and December 30, 2020. Funds are intended to be used to cover COVID-19 pandemic related health care expenses and expenditures made despite
losses of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible expenses include:
Acquisition and distribution of durable medical equipment and consumable medical supplies (and disposal), personal protective equipment (PPE), or infection control supplies
General COVID-19 testing, screening, treatment, contact tracing, and isolation expenditures and general healthcare operational and infrastructure expenses
Expenses related to case identification, monitoring, timely reporting of case data, contact identification, disease transmission characterization, and tracking of relevant epidemiological characteristics including hospitalization and death
Coordination of public health messaging and emergency public information efforts
Payroll, hazard pay, and benefit costs
Telework and telemedicine
Construction costs associated with establishing temporary health facilitates, improving mitigation measures, expansion of testing access in the community through the use of “pop-up test sites” and increasing treatment capacity
Sanitization and social distancing expenses
Employee training necessary due to public health emergency
Emergency medical response, including emergency medical transport
Utilities
Rent, mortgage, lease payments
Award Value
The amount of money you receive is dependent on your specific provider type, the economic hardship in the form of increased health care expenses, planned expenditures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or decreased utilization and revenues that
applicants have experienced as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional details below.
Transportation providers
First round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will determine a Maximum Funding Eligibility (“MFE”) based on the number of 2019 Medicaid trips by each applicant. The MFE will be reviewed and assessed against the economic hardship
experienced by each provider to determine the actual award amount.
Any subsequent round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will allocate the remaining funds based on the number of trips reported by applicants, assessed against the economic hardship experienced by each provider to determine the
final award amount.
Hospitals (other than specialty hospitals)
First round of awards targeted at Safety Net Hospitals. The total amount awarded in this first round was determined based on the amount of prior direct Federal awards received by each Safety Net Hospital:
$2,000,000: Safety Net Hospitals who received less than $1,000,000 in prior direct Federal awards.
$1,000,000: Safety Net Hospitals who received between $1,000,000 and $10,000,000 in prior direct Federal awards.
$500,000: Safety Net Hospitals who received more than $10,000,000 in prior direct Federal awards
Second round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will determine an MFE based on the calendar year 2019 Medicaid claims revenue of the expected applicant population. The MFE will be reviewed and assessed against the economic hardship
experienced by each provider and any additional Federal, State or other COVID-19 related funding received by each provider to determine the actual award amount.
Any subsequent round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will allocate the remaining funds based on an assessment of the remaining economic hardship experienced by each provider to determine the final award amount.
First round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will determine a MFE based on the total number of Medicaid services provided in the 2019 calendar year and calendar year 2019 Medicaid claims revenue of the expected applicant population.
The MFE will be reviewed and assessed against the economic hardship experienced by each provider and any additional Federal, State or other COVID-19 related funding received by each provider to determine the actual award amount.
Any subsequent round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will allocate the remaining funds based on an assessment of the remaining economic hardship experienced by each provider to determine the final award amount.
Community Behavioral Health and Substance Use Disorder facilities
First round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will determine an MFE based on the total calendar year 2019 Medicaid claims revenue of the expected applicant population. The MFE will be reviewed and assessed against the economic
hardship experienced by each provider and any additional Federal, State or other COVID-19 related funding received by each provider to determine the actual award amount.
Any subsequent round of awards based on a formula developed by HFS which will allocate the remaining funds based on an assessment of the remaining economic hardship experienced by each provider to determine the final award amount.
All other registered Medicaid providers who do not fall into one of the other specifically mentioned categories
Award based on a formula developed by HFS which will allocate funds based on an assessment of the economic hardship experienced by each provider to determine the final award amounts.
Additional Disclosures
By submitting a request for funding assistance, you understand, and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of a Subaward Agreement between you and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services if you accept awarded funds. An example
of the Subaward Agreement, including its terms and conditions can be found here. Here are some additional details about the funding source for the HFS CARES Program:
Federal award identification: Coronavirus Relief Fund
FAIN number: SLT0042
Federal award date: April 16, 2020
Federal award project description: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") established the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund ("the Fund"). Payments must be used for necessary expenditures incurred due to the public
health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) between March 1, 2020, to December 30, 2020. Payments must be used to cover costs that were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020. Governments
otherwise have broad discretion to utilize payments for expenditures ranging from COVID-19 testing to reimbursing small businesses for the costs of business interruption caused by required closures.
Federal awarding agency: U.S. Dept. of the Treasury
Pass-through entity: Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
CFDA Number: 21.019
CFDA name: Coronavirus Relief Fund
R&D designation: Non R&D
ARPA Long-Term Care Facilities Assistance
Overview
The FY 22 Illinois State Budget includes a total of $75 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for long term care providers. Uses are outlined in corresponding language in the FY 22 Budget Implementation Act (BIMP; see 305 ILCS 5/5-5.7a(7) and (8)). There are specific pass-through percentages for July, August, and September 2021 to be paid to frontline workers as follows: 50% for July, 62.5% for August, and 75% for September 2021. The remaining
funding can be used for additional COVID-19-related purposes, as described.
The new funding for the financial support of workers in long term care facilities comes amidst an enduring threat to nursing facility residents and staff from the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Federal government makes plans to implement a COVID-19 vaccination
requirement for nursing facility staff, immediately following the Governor’s issuance of a vaccine mandate for all workers in Illinois health care facilities, and as nursing shortages remain a concern in Illinois and across the country.
The following outlines the formula and accompanying guidelines with which ARPA funds will be distributed to nursing facilities actively serving the Medicaid program as prescribed by the Illinois General Assembly.
HFS has established a rate to distribute the $75 million using the latest available staffing data for total nurse hours across the state.
Each facility’s share of the $75 million distribution reflects its estimated share of total nursing hours for the most recently available quarter.
Staffing levels were based on nursing hours from the federal Payroll Based Journal for 4Q2020, where available.
Each facility will receive $4.43 per hour of nursing, at previously-observed nurse staffing levels, for each of the three months included in the $75 million distribution.
Nursing facilities are required to spend the monthly percentage of pass-through to front line workers on the following pandemic-related uses:
Vaccine bonus(es) paid March 3, 2021 or later
Pandemic bonus pay to employees on or after July 1, 2021 (hazard, hero, premium pay and premium wages, or other temporary wage increases)
Temporary benefits such as day care, etc. provided July 1, 2021 or later
Signing bonuses for new hires paid out March 3, 2021 or later
Nursing facilities may spend the remainder of their distributions on either the above uses or on other financial support for their workers provided on or after March 3, 2021, or other purposes permitted by paragraphs (7) and (8) of 305 ILCS 5/5-5.7a
which includes purposes permitted by Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 including but not limited to:
Payment of education expenses to enhance direct care staff recruitment
Enhanced and expanded training for nursing facility staff to better achieve patient outcomes, such as training on infection control, proper personal protective equipment, best practices in quality of care, and culturally competent patient communications
Additional forms of pandemic-related financial support for the nursing facility workforce (to be specified by the provider)
Costs incurred due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
Unreimbursed costs for testing and treatment of COVID-19
Costs of COVID-19 mitigation and prevention
Medical expenses related to aftercare or extended care for COVID-19 patients with longer term symptoms and effects
ARPA Safety Net and Other Hospital Assistance
Overview
The FY 22 Illinois State Budget includes a total of $180 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding Illinois hospitals ($30 million for Safety-Net hospitals and $150 million for all other hospitals). Uses are outlined in corresponding language
in the FY 22 Budget Implementation Act (BIMP; see 305 ILCS 5/5-5.7a(7).
The new funding for hospitals comes amidst an enduring threat to staff and patients from the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Federal government makes plans to implement a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for hospital staff, immediately following the Governor’s
issuance of a vaccine mandate for all workers in Illinois health care facilities, and as hospital staff shortages remain a concern in Illinois and across the country.
The following outlines the formula and accompanying guidelines with which ARPA funds will be distributed to hospitals and safety-net hospitals actively serving the Medicaid program as prescribed by the Illinois General Assembly:
HFS has established a rate to distribute the $180 million using the hospital’s directed payments from the hospital assessment program.
HFS has established a rate to distribute the $180 million using the hospital’s directed payments from the hospital assessment program.
Each hospital’s share of the quarterly installment reflects its estimated share of the total directed from the hospital assessment program made to hospitals in that quarter, with an adjustment made for any funds directly appropriated to such hospitals
in the FY 22 Illinois State Budget.
Hospitals may spend their distributions on purposes permitted by paragraphs (7) of 305 ILCS 5/5-5.7a which includes purposes permitted by Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 as follows:
Premium pay, as that term is defined Treasury’s Interim Final Rule (Interim Final Rule (treasury.gov)). Premium pay includes, but is not limited,
the following:
Vaccine bonus(es)
Pandemic bonus pay (hazard, hero, or other temporary one-time bonuses)
Temporary wage increases
Payroll and covered benefit expenses for public safety, public health, health care, human services, and similar employees to the extent that the employee’s time is spent mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency (Interim Final Rule (treasury.gov))
ARPA Specialized Mental Health Facilities Assistance
