$13.1 Million for 69 Montana Health Providers in Pandemic Response Funds, Tester Announces

Second tranche of funds for health care systems now available

As part of his ongoing fight to make sure Montana health care providers have the resources they need to keep Montanans safe during the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced $13,193,537 for 69 Montana health care providers through the second allocation of funds for Montana’s Provider Relief Fund.

Tester announced $111.5 million for 1,469 providers and health systems across Montana in the first tranche of funding on April 10th.

“In order to start safely reopening our state, we have to slow the spread of the virus and I fought to get these critical funds in the bill to help our frontline health care workers do exactly that,” said Tester. “The fact is, health providers across rural America were struggling to keep their doors open before this crisis, so we need to get these resources out the door and into their hands as quickly as possible, and I’m going to keep banging down the doors in Washington to get it done.’

This $13.1 million for Montana’s Provider Relief Fund is the second distribution from the $100 billion Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund allocated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act specifically for hospitals and health care providers. This fund, which Tester and his colleagues fought to secure through 72 hours of bipartisan negotiations, is intended to cover non-reimbursable expenses attributable to the coronavirus pandemic. All health care entities that provide treatment, diagnoses or testing are eligible for funding.

Tester has been working tirelessly to ensure that Montana hospitals are prepared to combat the COVID-19 crisis. Recently, Tester sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar urging him to guarantee that a portion of the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund will be set aside specifically for rural providers for health care expenses or lost revenues attributable to the pandemic. He also secured more than $4 million for 48 rural Montana hospitals to help with pandemic response, and secured an expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program to cover Montana’s rural hospitals. He recently demanded that the Trump Administration not leave rural hospitals behind in their coronavirus response, and he voted to deliver critical, urgent relief to Montana hospitals, workers, families, small businesses, and others hardest hit by the outbreak, which included $1.25 billion for the state of Montana.

Visit tester.senate.gov/coronavirusresources for a list of resources for Montanans during the COVID-19 outbreak