The Department of Health and Human Services has activated its National Disaster Medical System Definitive Care Reimbursement Program for the first time since 2010 to reimburse hospitals and medical facilities that provide care to evacuees from Hurricane Irma.
Approximately 85 patients who were evacuated to Puerto Rico from the U.S. Virgin Islands will be covered under the program.
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"We are activating NDMS' Definitive Care Reimbursement Program to ensure that the medical facilities and hospitals accepting these patients will be reimbursed for the vital care they are providing," said Robert Kadlec, MD, HHS assistant secretary for Preparedness and Response.
The program covers medical care provided to people who are injured or became ill as a result of natural disasters if medical care is no longer available in their local area after the disaster.
Covered services include medically necessary hospital care, which can extend beyond the typical 30-day stay, as well as home care, rehabilitation, physical therapy and primary care.
Facilities receive reimbursement up to 110 percent of the Medicare rate for participating in the program or a comparable rate if the Medicare rate is unavailable.
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The facilities must make available up to 25 beds for NDMS patients. More than 1,900 hospitals across the country participate in NDMS' Definitive Care Reimbursement Program.
The last time HHS activated the program was in response to a natural disaster was in 2010 when a devastating earthquake hit Haiti.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com