121 Rural Montana Hospitals & Clinics to Receive Nearly $200 Million in Coronavirus Relief Funding, Tester Announces

Senator: “These funds will help rural hospitals and clinics keep their doors open”

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that 121 rural Montana hospitals, community health centers, and clinics will receive $199,485,740 in coronavirus relief funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The Provider Relief Funds are part of the $10 billion for rural health care providers in the CARES Act, which Tester and his colleagues fought to secure through 72 hours of bipartisan negotiations, and is intended to cover operating costs and lost revenue incurred by rural hospitals due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Montana’s health care providers have been hit hard by this virus, and nowhere is that more true than in rural areas where providers were operating on razor-thin margins before this crisis,” Tester said. “These funds will help rural hospitals and clinics keep their doors open, and help keep our frontline health care workers safe as we combat this pandemic. I’ll keep fighting to make sure Montana’s rural hospitals can continue providing critical care in the communities that depend on them—during this crisis and into the future.”

The funds will benefit acute care general hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Health Clinics, and Community Health Centers across rural Montana. Hospitals will receive at least $1 million, and non-hospital clinics will get at least $100,000.

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.

Tester 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