Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and John Kennedy (R-LA) sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma about their concerns about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). A recent notification by CMS says that PPP funds should be counted on rural health care provider cost reports. The Senators wrote: “Unfortunately, we recently became aware that the CMS imposed regulatory action that will force rural providers to repay as much as 80 percent of their forgiven PPP loans through reductions in future Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. This action is unacceptable.” They asked Verma to reconsider this action, which they believe exacerbates the financial instability of many rural hospitals.
Rural Reporter