The CARES Act is an economic stimulus package bill that was enacted by the US Congress; it was signed by President Trump to become law on 27 th March 2020 (Cavallo, 2020). The stimulus package, which was worth $2.2 trillion, was enacted to cushion citizens due to the adverse impacts of Covid-19 on the economy. Under this act, eligible health institutions and businesses received funds to support their growth and continued expansion during the pandemic. Hospitals in the country received provider relief funds, with the HHS being responsible for distributing the 178 billion dollars to healthcare institutions and healthcare providers concerned with the Coronavirus response. Despite the distribution of these funds, the number of coronavirus cases has increased substantially in the last year. The increase in these cases raises several concerns about the funding of these hospitals.
When the number of charity cases substantially exceeds the budgeted amount, the quality of care provided within these institutions may be significantly diminished. The costs linked to providing care for uninsured patients within hospitals with diminished relief funds may affect the ability of these hospitals to function optimally (Grogan et al., 2021). Hospitals that serve these patients will be substantially disadvantaged as they face heightened demands for care while receiving lower reimbursement for the care that is delivered. Once the relief fund is depleted, a hospital is not obligated to continue providing services. The cost of hospital care presented to patients with COVID-19 is substantial. The provision of uncompensated care to patients that are not insured may have a substantial financial impact on healthcare practitioners and facilities. This provision of uncompensated care is not beneficial to hospitals, placing them under no legal obligation to present these services. However, hospitals may have a moral obligation to provide care to these patients.
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Legally, healthcare leaders are exposed to direct liability for failure to comply if they terminate the administration of medical services due to the patient's inability to pay if an emergency is involved. The ramifications for this include exclusion from participating in Medicare and Medicaid and civil monetary damages (Blavin et al., 2021). The moral ramification that a healthcare leader faces is the guilt and conscience associated with the oath taken to treat patients with the best duty of care in accordance with the Hippocratic oath. Due to the rampant spread of COVID-19 cases and their variants, the moral standards of healthcare providers compromised in relation to rationing care (Grogan et al., 2021). This compromise arises when some patients have to be denied the provision of care on time or even the refusal of serving public patients.
When the CARES dollars are depleted, hospital institutions have to seek accelerated Medicare payments in the form of loans or deal with financial losses (Blavin et al., 2021). Once the relief package is diminished, hospitals have to seek alternative sources of funds. The country will only be able to offer continued financial assistance for an unforeseeable amount of time if the pandemic continues to access debt financing from international financing situations. Since March 2020, the US government had handed out substantial financial funds to businesses and hospitals in the country. The consistent distribution of these funds may deplete the federal reserves. To ensure that its overall relief measures are maintained, it may obtain loans from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This places the delivery of healthcare at a significant alert as the depletion of resources will restrict the financing of hospitals. As hospitals will not be able to access financial assistance, healthcare leaders should begin to establish alternative sources of finance. This will focus on ensuring that the quality of patient care is consistently established and healthcare employees are compensated.
References
Blavin, F., & Ramos, C. (2021). Medicaid expansion: Effects on hospital finances and implications for hospitals facing COVID-19 challenges: Study examines Medicaid expansion effects on hospital finances and implications for hospitals facing COVID-19 challenges. Health Affairs , 40 (1), 82-90.
Cavallo, J. J., & Forman, H. P. (2020). The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on radiology practices. Radiology , 296 (3), E141-E144.
Grogan, C. M., Gusmano, M. K., & Lin, Y. A. (2021). Unsanitized and unfair: How covid-19 bailout funds refuel inequity in the US health care system. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law . https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-9155977
