The Federal Government paid certain Colorado hospitals $236 million for COVID-19 relief. But this money only went to some hospitals and not to others, according to the CDC . None of this money went to Boulder Community Hospital. Why? Furthermore, none of the hospitals in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, or Grand Junction received any federal money.
Why?
United States taxpayers paid $178,000,000,000 ($178 billion) to certain hospitals and healthcare providers for coronavirus relief as of September 2021. In addition, Congress established the Paycheck Protection Program that provided health care providers an estimated $100 billion in funds,
These funds were distributed via the CARES Act; the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (PPPHCEA); and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act.
The following table from the CDC shows which hospitals in Colorado got federal funding for COVID. Note that, despite high populations and many deaths due to COVID, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Castle Rock, and Grand Junction received no money.
Name | City | County | 1st Round Payment | 2nd Round Payment | Total | |
All Colorado Hospitals | $99,545,171 | $136,751,885 | $236,297,056 | |||
MEDICAL CENTER OF AURORA – MAIN CAMPUS (HCA) | AURORA | Arapahoe,Douglas, Adams | $17,849,051 | $6,270,651 | $24,119,702 | |
UCHEALTH UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO HOSPITAL | AURORA | Arapahoe,Douglas, Adams | $36,588,558 | $17,516,382 | $54,104,940 | |
PLATTE VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER | BRIGHTON | Adams | $3,850,000 | $3,850,000 | ||
EAST MORGAN COUNTY HOSPITAL | BRUSH | Morgan | $1,950,000 | $1,950,000 | ||
CK ADVENTIST HOSPITAL | CASTLE ROCK | Douglas | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | ||
DENVER HEALTH MAIN CAMPUS | DENVER | Denver | $16,563,452 | $14,015,488 | $30,578,940 | |
PORTER ADVENTIST HOSPITAL | DENVER | Denver | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | ||
ROSE MEDICAL CENTER (HCA) | DENVER | Denver | $7,950,000 | $7,950,000 | ||
SAINT JOSEPH HOSPITAL (EXEMPLA ST JOSEPH HOSPITAL) | DENVER | Denver | $12,936,570 | $4,535,246 | $17,471,816 | |
SWEDISH MEDICAL CENTER (HCA) | ENGLEWOOD | Arapahoe | $9,900,000 | $9,900,000 | ||
COLORADO PLAINS MEDICAL CENTER | FORT MORGAN | Morgan | $1,650,000 | $1,650,000 | ||
ST ANTHONY SUMMIT MEDICAL CENTER | FRISCO | Summit | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | ||
NORTH COLORADO MEDICAL CENTER | GREELEY | $15,607,540 | $3,164,118 | $18,771,658 | ||
GUNNISON VALLEY HEALTH | GUNNISON | $2,200,000 | $2,200,000 | |||
NORTHERN COLORADO LONG TERM ACUTE HOSPITAL | JOHNSTOWN | Larimer.Weld | $750,000 | $750,000 | ||
GOOD SAMARITAN MEDICAL CENTER | LAFAYETTE | Boulder | $6,800,000 | $6,800,000 | ||
LITTLETON ADVENTIST HOSPITAL | LITTLETON | Arapahoe | $5,450,000 | $5,450,000 | ||
UCHEALTH LONGS PEAK HOSPITAL | LONGMONT | Boulder. Weld | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | ||
UCHEALTH MEDICAL CENTER OF THE ROCKIES | LOVELAND | Larimer | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 | ||
MONTROSE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL | MONTROSE | Montrose | $1,850,000 | $1,850,000 | ||
PARKER ADVENTIST HOSPITAL | PARKER | Douglas | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 | ||
GRAND RIVER MEDICAL CENTER | RIFLE | Garfield | $500,000 | $500,000 | ||
STERLING REGIONAL MEDCENTER | STERLING | Logan | $900,000 | $900,000 | ||
NORTH SUBURBAN MEDICAL CENTER | THORNTON | Adams | $7,200,000 | $7,200,000 | ||
VAIL HEALTH (VAIL VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER) | VAIL | Eagle | $1,750,000 | $1,750,000 | ||
ST ANTHONY NORTH HEALTH CAMPUS | WESTMINSTER | Jefferson, Adams | $5,400,000 | $5,400,000 | ||
LUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER | WHEAT RIDGE | Jefferson | $10,150,000 | $10,150,000 | ||
Colorado Springs | El Paso | $0 | ||||
Grand Junction | Mesa | $0 | ||||
Pueblo | Pueblo | $0 | ||||
Castle Rock | Douglas | $0 | ||||
Greely | Weld | $0 |
Source: CDC
The Department of Health and Human Services distributed two rounds of payments to hospitals in High Impact areas for positive COVID-19 admissions.
In the first round of the High Impact Allocation, $12 billion was distributed to nearly 400 hospitals that provided inpatient care for 100 or more COVID-19 patients through April 10, 2020. $2 billion of these payments was distributed to these hospitals based on their Medicare disproportionate share and uncompensated care payments. In the second round of funding, $10 billion was distributed to hospitals having over 161 COVID-19 admissions between January 1 and June 10, 2020.
Federal coronavirus relief funds and cost reductions allowed some but not all hospitals to remain profitable during the first three quarters of 2020, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Furthermore, in 2021, the six largest hospital systems generated profits that exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to MedPAC’s preliminary data. (see list of top 10 hospital systems.)
Why did some hospitals get federal dollars and others did not?
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the hospitals that got the money had more patients early in the pandemic. But what about those hospitals who later had more patients? As data from the New York Times below shows, the biggest county in Colorado, El Paso County, had the most COVID-19 deaths, yet hospitals there received no COVID-19 relief. Why?
COVID Cases and Deaths in Colorado Counties
County | County Seat | Rank | County | Population 2020 | TOTAL CASES | PER 100,000 | TOTAL DEATHS | PER 100,000 |
El Paso County | Colorado Springs | 1 | El Paso County | 730,395 | 181,586 | 25,206 | 1,697 | 236 |
Denver, City and County of | Denver | 2 | Denver County | 715,522 | 166,633 | 22,914 | 1,547 | 213 |
Arapahoe County | Littleton | 3 | Arapahoe County | 655,070 | 150,770 | 22,963 | 1,376 | 210 |
Adams County | Brighton | 5 | Adams County | 519,572 | 132,138 | 25,538 | 1,330 | 257 |
Jefferson County | Golden | 4 | Jefferson County | 582,910 | 120,060 | 20,598 | 1,457 | 250 |
Weld County | Greeley | 9 | Weld County | 328,981 | 81,707 | 25,180 | 773 | 238 |
Douglas County | Castle Rock | 7 | Douglas County | 357,978 | 77,187 | 21,981 | 441 | 126 |
Larimer County | Fort Collins | 6 | Larimer County | 359,066 | 75,349 | 21,112 | 510 | 143 |
Boulder County | Boulder | 8 | Boulder County | 330,758 | 62,343 | 19,112 | 413 | 127 |
Pueblo County | Pueblo | 10 | Pueblo County | 168,162 | 45,226 | 26,852 | 797 | 473 |
Mesa County | Grand Junction | 11 | Mesa County | 155,703 | 41,873 | 27,153 | 530 | 344 |
Eagle County | Eagle | 14 | Eagle County | 55,731 | 15,762 | 28,592 | 35 | 63 |
Fremont County | Cañon City | 16 | Fremont County | 48,939 | 14,994 | 31,343 | 180 | 376 |
Garfield County | Glenwood Springs | 13 | Garfield County | 61,685 | 14,360 | 23,909 | 94 | 157 |
Broomfield, City and County of | Broomfield | 12 | Broomfield County | 74,112 | 13,087 | 18,572 | 128 | 182 |
La Plata County | Durango | 15 | La Plata County | 55,638 | 12,615 | 22,438 | 80 | 142 |
Summit County | Breckenridge | 19 | Summit County | 31,055 | 9,678 | 31,208 | 17 | 55 |
Montrose County | Montrose | 17 | Montrose County | 42,679 | 9,164 | 21,432 | 166 | 388 |
Logan County | Sterling | 25 | Logan County | 21,528 | 7,307 | 32,607 | 115 | 513 |
Routt County | Steamboat Springs | 23 | Routt County | 24,829 | 6,321 | 24,655 | 27 | 105 |
Pitkin County | Aspen | 29 | Pitkin County | 17,358 | 6,301 | 35,465 | 6 | 34 |
Montezuma County | Cortez | 22 | Montezuma County | 25,849 | 6,119 | 23,370 | 73 | 279 |
Delta County | Delta | 18 | Delta County | 31,196 | 5,963 | 19,135 | 137 | 440 |
Morgan County | Fort Morgan | 20 | Morgan County | 29,111 | 5,534 | 19,038 | 153 | 526 |
Teller County | Cripple Creek | 24 | Teller County | 24,710 | 4,756 | 18,733 | 57 | 225 |
Elbert County | Kiowa | 21 | Elbert County | 26,062 | 4,703 | 17,595 | 40 | 150 |
Alamosa County | Alamosa | 31 | Alamosa County | 16,376 | 4,483 | 27,617 | 68 | 419 |
Chaffee County | Salida | 26 | Chaffee County | 19,476 | 4,375 | 21,492 | 51 | 251 |
Otero County | La Junta | 27 | Otero County | 18,690 | 4,238 | 23,186 | 127 | 695 |
Las Animas County | Trinidad | 33 | Las Animas County | 14,555 | 3,540 | 24,404 | 41 | 283 |
Grand County | Hot Sulphur Springs | 32 | Grand County | 15,717 | 3,451 | 21,933 | 24 | 153 |
Gunnison County | Gunnison | 30 | Gunnison County | 16,918 | 3,327 | 19,053 | 20 | 115 |
Crowley County | Ordway | 47 | Crowley County | 5,922 | 3,150 | 51,972 | 28 | 462 |
Moffat County | Craig | 35 | Moffat County | 13,292 | 2,975 | 22,397 | 51 | 384 |
Archuleta County | Pagosa Springs | 34 | Archuleta County | 13,359 | 2,854 | 20,344 | 15 | 107 |
Park County | Fairplay | 28 | Park County | 17,390 | 2,775 | 14,725 | 20 | 106 |
Rio Grande County | Del Norte | 37 | Rio Grande County | 11,539 | 2,773 | 24,612 | 46 | 408 |
Prowers County | Lamar | 36 | Prowers County | 11,999 | 2,602 | 21,377 | 48 | 394 |
Bent County | Las Animas | 50 | Bent County | 5,650 | 2,501 | 44,845 | 47 | 843 |
San Miguel County | Telluride | 40 | San Miguel County | 8,072 | 2,237 | 27,351 | 9 | 110 |
Lincoln County | Hugo | 49 | Lincoln County | 5,675 | 2,108 | 36,976 | 9 | 158 |
Yuma County | Wray | 38 | Yuma County | 9,988 | 1,855 | 18,515 | 24 | 240 |
Lake County | Leadville | 42 | Lake County | 7,436 | 1,782 | 21,927 | 2 | 25 |
Conejos County | Conejos | 41 | Conejos County | 7,461 | 1,717 | 20,926 | 52 | 634 |
Rio Blanco County | Meeker | 45 | Rio Blanco County | 6,529 | 1,662 | 26,281 | 13 | 206 |
Kit Carson County | Burlington | 43 | Kit Carson County | 7,087 | 1,590 | 22,404 | 34 | 479 |
Clear Creek County | Georgetown | 39 | Clear Creek County | 9,397 | 1,515 | 15,619 | 12 | 124 |
Huerfano County | Walsenburg | 44 | Huerfano County | 6,820 | 1,433 | 20,777 | 32 | 464 |
Saguache County | Saguache | 46 | Saguache County | 6,368 | 1,160 | 16,999 | 12 | 176 |
Washington County | Akron | 52 | Washington County | 4,817 | 1,047 | 21,333 | 29 | 591 |
Gilpin County | Central City | 48 | Gilpin County | 5,808 | 934 | 14,961 | 4 | 64 |
Phillips County | Holyoke | 54 | Phillips County | 4,530 | 869 | 20,375 | 19 | 445 |
Ouray County | Ouray | 51 | Ouray County | 4,874 | 843 | 17,023 | 6 | 121 |
Baca County | Springfield | 55 | Baca County | 3,506 | 831 | 23,206 | 8 | 223 |
Costilla County | San Luis | 56 | Costilla County | 3,499 | 670 | 17,237 | 15 | 386 |
Custer County | Westcliffe | 53 | Custer County | 4,704 | 633 | 12,490 | 19 | 375 |
Sedgwick County | Julesburg | 57 | Sedgwick County | 2,404 | 480 | 21,352 | 11 | 489 |
Dolores County | Dove Creek | 58 | Dolores County | 2,326 | 354 | 17,226 | 8 | 389 |
Kiowa County | Eads | 60 | Kiowa County | 1,446 | 332 | 23,613 | 6 | 427 |
Cheyenne County | Cheyenne Wells | 59 | Cheyenne County | 1,748 | 321 | 17,531 | 9 | 492 |
What do you think? Is it fair that the US government gave some hospitals millions of dollars while giving others no money? Is this a case of Crony Capitalism? Or is there some other explanation? Did any small, private medical practices get money?
For more about federal funding of the medical industry, visit Freedom from Medical Bankruptcy