Summary: This bill includes within the Paycheck Protection Program, established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), certain rural hospitals or hospitals serving low-income patients that are designated as critical care hospitals.(Cosponsors)
ANGIE CRAIG’S POSITION: Representative Craig co-sponsored the bill on 08/07/20.
STATUS: Introduced 6/15/20 by Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3]
INFORMATION RELATED TO THE BILL:
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“Yesterday, new legislation to make small, rural hospitals eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bipartisan legislation, entitled the PPP Access for Rural Hospitals Act, was introduced by Congressman Michael Guest (R-MS) and Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL). This legislation would allow smaller hospitals that are part of a larger health system to waive affiliation requirements to be eligible for the PPP. The language is narrowly tailored to ensure rural hospitals or those in most need are able to participate in the PPP program.
Currently, small, rural hospitals that are part of a larger health system are not eligible for PPP provisions if the health system has more than 500 employees across all of its facilities. Smaller hospitals included in large health systems have been left ineligible to apply for PPP loans. These hospitals, many of them rural, have experienced tremendous financial burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic and have expressed the need for the payroll assistance that could be provided by the PPP if the restrictive provisions were eliminated.
“Rural hospitals in Mississippi and across our nation provide critical services to their surrounding communities,” Rep. Guest said. “During this COVID-19 crisis, our doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers have been on the frontlines providing needed care. Unfortunately, our hospitals have seen interruptions in their normal operations during the pandemic, resulting in decreased revenues and financial hardship. I’m proud to join Congresswoman Sewell in introducing this bill that would provide payroll assistance to our rural hospitals, which could help ensure their continued viability.”
“We are still in the midst of a pandemic that has taken a devastating economic toll on our communities. It is more critical than ever that our rural hospitals on the front lines fighting COVID-19 have the resources they need to keep our communities healthy,” said Rep. Sewell. “The PPP Access for Rural Hospitals Act would make additional funding through the Paycheck Protection program available to some of our rural hospitals, saving jobs and helping to ensure hospitals with the most need are able to weather the financial hardships brought on by the pandemic.””
ADDITIONAL DETAIL:
Link to the text of the bill.
Link to bill information (support and opposition) on Countable.
Link to bill information on GovTrack.