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Federal health officials announced a new round of financial help Tuesday to ease the financial strains on safety-net health-care providers in the coronavirus pandemic, committing $25 billion to hospitals and other providers of care for the nation’s poorest patients. The Department of Health and Human Services plans to devote $10 billion of that amount to about 750 hospitals that treat many patients on Medicaid or who are uninsured, officials said. (Goldstein, 6/9)

A senior HHS official said that providers who submit revenue information could expect to see funds as soon as 10 days after submission. HHS backed off a similar timeline estimate the department gave to Medicare providers during the general distribution tranche. After a month of that portal being open, only 23% of available funds had been sent to providers that submitted paperwork. "On April 22, HHS committed to getting Medicare providers roughly 2% of their revenue. On June 9, HHS committed to getting Medicaid providers roughly 2% of their revenue. While the timing and process may not have been appreciated, the equity is," McDermottPlus Consulting vice president Rodney Whitlock said. (Cohrs, 6/9)

Now that healthcare providers have received billions in federal aid to offset their COVID-19 losses, some business groups, regulators and lawmakers want to ensure the money doesn't fuel a wave of predatory consolidation. Their concern is that some of the $175 billion in grants Congress set up to keep healthcare providers afloat at the height of the pandemic could unintentionally help large, well-resourced companies buy up smaller ones that were weakened by the crisis. (Bannow, 6/9)

Connecticut’s top health official on Tuesday ordered hospitals that were barring visitors because of the coronavirus to make exceptions for patients with disabilities, after a complaint that the policy violated the civil rights of people who were unable to obtain adequate care for themselves. A family member or care provider, the order says, may now accompany a patient who has a mental, intellectual or physical impairment and requires special assistance. (Fink, 6/9)

HHS closed a civil rights complaint against Connecticut after the state issued an executive order to ensure that people with disabilities have access to support persons during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said Tuesday. Connecticut's executive order mandates hospitals and other acute care facilities to allow a designated support person to visit a patient with a disability. Family members, service providers or others knowledgeable about the needs of the person with a disability can serve as a designated support person, HHS said in a statement. (Brady, 6/9)

In early January, before most people in the U.S. had even heard of Covid-19, Bonnie Castillo called a meeting with two trusted health care deputies at the country’s largest union of registered nurses. Castillo was alarmed by news reports about how a virus — so mysterious it didn’t yet have a name — was ravaging Wuhan, China, and asked the union’s director of health and safety and its industrial hygienist to go through some scientific reports. As she listened, Castillo, the executive director of National Nurses United and a former intensive care nurse, grew worried. The disease, they told her, was spreading rapidly. (Rani, 6/9)

Kaiser Health News: At-Home Care Designed For COVID Likely Here To Stay At Cleveland Hospital

In late March, Andrea Laquatra began to feel sick. At first, it was an overwhelming fatigue, and the 32-year-old Cleveland mother of two tried to push through it. A fever, headaches and body aches soon followed. Then she noticed she’d lost her senses of taste and smell. By March 23, Laquatra could no longer deny the nagging fear she’d had since first falling ill: She might have COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, which by then had been detected in every state. (Zeitner, 6/10)

The federal government is urging healthcare facilities to reopen in states that have relatively low and stable incidence of COVID-19 cases, illustrating a delicate balance between increasing access to care while ensuring providers are adequately prepared to mitigate contamination and safety concerns. (Kacik, 6/9)

Governor Gina M. Raimondo’s administration spent $34 million to build and equip field hospitals in response to the coronavirus pandemic without providing a dime for minority contractors, a situation that Latino and Black leaders called “inconceivable,” “disappointing,” and “unacceptable.” State law requires that minority business enterprises must receive at least 10 percent of the dollar value of state purchases and construction projects. But because of the urgency of the public health crisis, the administration waived that requirement in order to award contracts quickly. (Fitzpatrick, 6/9)