In an updated document
for the Paycheck Protection Program, the Small Business Administration said all
borrowers should consider the certification they must make when applying for
loans that "current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary
to support the ongoing operations of the applicant." Among the
considerations businesses must weigh is their ability to access other sources
of money. This update is in response to the number of corporations that applied
for PPP loans, including Shake Shack, Potbelly and other large restaurant
chains. The guidance doesn't change the formal rules of the program and
wouldn't necessarily stop large companies from continuing to seek the loans, but
it marked the SBA's first public response to revelations that large companies
were among the first to receive the government-backed loans.
HHS announced additional information about allocations of
the $100 billion Provider Relief Act created in the CARES Act, which the
Administration is using to help reimburse providers for the costs of uninsured
COVID-19 patients. HHS released a new fact sheet detailing
this allocation. Fifty billion dollars is set aside for general distribution to
Medicare facilities and providers impacted by COVID-19, $10 billion will be
allocated for a targeted distribution to hospitals in areas that have been
particularly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, and $10 billion will be
allocated for rural health clinics and hospitals.
The Social Security Administration announced that
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will automatically receive their
Economic Impact Payments directly to their bank accounts through direct deposit,
Direct Express debit card or by paper check, just as they would normally
receive their SSI benefits. Treasury anticipates SSI recipients will receive
these automatic payments no later than early May.
CDC released “COVID19Surge,” which is a spreadsheet-based tool that hospital
administrators and public health officials can use to estimate the surge in
demand for hospital-based services during the pandemic. A user of COVID19Surge
can produce estimates of the number of COVID-19 patients that need to be
hospitalized, the number requiring ICU care, and the number requiring
ventilator support. The user can then compare those estimates with hospital
capacity, using either existing capacity or estimates of expanded capacity.
The IRS posted new FAQs
regarding COVID-19-related tax credits for required paid sick and family leave
provided by small and midsize businesses, while the Treasury Department updated
its FAQs
on Economic Impact Payments and the Federal Reserve announced
that its Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility is fully operational
and available to provide liquidity to eligible financial institutions, which
will help support small businesses.
Be sure to check the coronavirus
information section of the NAHU website on a regular basis. We update
it daily with any new resources or guidance released by the federal
government. |