News Releases

WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released new guidance to clarify that publicly owned hospitals are eligible to apply for and receive loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) led the charge to fix the PPP in order to bring critical relief to hospitals across the country that are struggling financially due to COVID-19.

Created in the Phase III Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the PPP allowed for-profit and non-profit hospitals with under 500 employees to receive loans to keep employees on the payroll. This unfortunately excluded publicly owned hospitals, including 62 hospitals in Kansas, from having access to the program. Many of these hospitals are county-owned and municipal-owned small hospitals that provide life-saving services to rural communities.

Due to health precautions related to COVID-19, hospitals are canceling non-critical surgeries to prevent patients from risking exposure to the virus. This has led to many hospitals facing revenue declines of 60-80%, making access to the PPP critical to their survival.

On April 9, Sen. Moran led a group of senators in sending a letter to Senate leadership urging them to clarify eligibility for the PPP to allow publicly owned hospitals to qualify for the program. Sen. Moran also raised this issue with President Trump during a call and continued to work with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Deputy Secretary Justin Muzinich and the SBA to make certain hospitals receive access to the resources they need to stay open.

“Many of the rural hospitals across Kansas are publicly owned and are barely breaking even on a good day,” said Sen. Moran. “This pandemic has forced many of these hospitals to cut back on non-critical services which has led to a dramatic loss of revenue. This administrative fix is crucial to keeping hospitals open and making certain Kansans will still have access to medical care in their own communities when this crisis is over. I applaud the administration for updating the guidance and providing relief to more than 60 hospitals across Kansas.”

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