Federal Aid for COVID-19

Over the past two months, the Federal Government has passed three support packages and are working on a fourth. IAC has been tracking this information to determine how it affects us here in Idaho. We’ve been in close contact with our federal delegation and Governor Little and his staff.

Seth Grigg was appointed by the governor to the newly formed Coronavirus Financial Advisory Committee to oversee the approximately $1.25 billion in federal funds that Idaho will receive to fight the pandemic. While this will be a very helpful source of funding to combat COVID-19, there is also other federal aid available. In a recent call with the White House we learned about more opportunities to receive much needed funds.

$25 million worth of grants are available to beef up telehealth programs. More information regarding these grants including how to apply can be found at this link. The grant application window opens tomorrow, April 14^th and will open until all funds are granted or through July 14^th.

The Department of Justice is administering a grant that is modeled after the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant. According to DOJ administrators, if you received one of these grants in 2019, then you are likely going to qualify for this grant. They are using the 2019 formula to determine eligibility. You simply need to apply for the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program. No match is required. Find out more information about how to apply by clicking here.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently released $30 billion in provider relief funding. According to the HHS website, HHS plans to release the additional $70 billion allocated to aid Medicaid providers particularly impacted by the outbreak, rural providers, providers of services with lower shares of Medicare reimbursement or who predominantly serve the Medicaid population, and providers requesting reimbursement for the treatment of the uninsured. Click here for more information.

Here is a link with more information regarding grants for housing, preventing violence against women, and more. IAC will continue to monitor the federal aid available and will send out information periodically. NACo is also an excellent resource regarding the new grant availability. You can sign up for their COVID-19 notifications by clicking here.