Overview
For additional guidance, please refer to Steptoe's COVID-19 Resource Center.
On April 21, the Senate passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. The bill—a $484 billion package dubbed "Phase 3.5" of COVID-19 economic relief—will replenish the Small Business Administration's (SBA) loan and grant programs; provide support to hospitals and medical facilities; and expand federal, state, and local coronavirus testing efforts.
Additional Funding for Existing SBA Programs
The deal reached by Congressional leaders and the Administration includes:
- An additional $310 billion for the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program, with $60 billion specifically allocated for loans made by small lenders and community-based institutions;
- An extra $50 billion for the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program;
- An extra $10 billion for the SBA's Emergency Economic Injury Grant program;
The Paycheck Protection Program is available to section 501(c)(3) organizations and section 501(c)(19) veterans organizations that meet the eligibility requirements. "Private nonprofit entities," which are not further defined, are eligible for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Emergency Economic Injury Grant program. See our prior coverage on CARES Act Benefits for Tax-Exempt Organizations and on the Paycheck Protection Program and CARES Act tax provisions. See also Steptoe's summary of the Paycheck Protection Program.
Funding for Healthcare Providers and Testing
In addition to small business funding, the bill includes $75 billion for healthcare related expenses or lost revenues for eligible healthcare providers who provide services to patients with possible or actual cases of COVID-19. Eligible healthcare providers include nonprofit entities that provide diagnoses, testing, or care for individuals with possible or actual cases of COVID-19, as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). In order to receive this funding, healthcare providers must apply on a rolling basis to HHS with a statement explaining the need for the funds. Permissible uses of funds include construction of temporary structures, leasing of properties, medical supplies and equipment including personal protective equipment and testing supplies, increased workforce and trainings, emergency operation centers, retrofitting facilities, and surge capacity.
Additionally, the bill provides $25 billion for COVID-19 testing including expenses to research, develop, validate, manufacture, purchase, administer, and expand capacity for COVID–19 tests. Eleven billion ($11 billion) of the funding for COVID-19 testing is allocated to states, localities, territories, and tribes for testing expenses including support for testing use in workforce, epidemiology, by employers or in other settings; scale up of testing by public health, academic, commercial, and hospital laboratories; and community-based testing sites, healthcare facilities, and other entities engaged in COVID-19 testing, surveillance, and contact tracing.
The balance of the $25 billion for COVID-19 testing is apportioned among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the Food and Drug Administration, and Community Health Centers and rural health clinics. Up to $1 billion may be used to cover costs of testing for the uninsured.
The House is scheduled to vote on the legislation on April 23 after which President Trump is expected to sign it into law.
