Health Centers That Use HRSA COVID-19 Emergency Grant Funding to Pay Salaries, Including Hazard Pay or a “Pandemic Premium” Must Have Policies and Procedures in Place That Authorize This Payment
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has awarded millions of dollars in federal COVID-19-related grant funds to health centers across the country. Federal guidelines regarding the use of these funds allow health centers to charge employee salaries and benefits to these grant funds, including for hazard pay or a “pandemic premium”. However, the health centers must have policies and procedures in place that allow for use of these funds under unexpected or extraordinary circumstances.
Health centers that intend on using the COVID-19 related federal grant funding to pay salaries and benefits, including hazard pay or a pandemic premium, should ensure that they have board-approved policies and procedures in place that allow the health centers to use these funds for this purpose. Health centers that do not have such policies and procedures in place should promptly develop them.
If you have any questions regarding this alert, or need assistance in developing your policies and procedures, please contact the Garfunkel Wild attorney with whom you regularly work, or contact us at [email protected].