Navigating Cost Recovery Reimbursements with COVID-19

By Lauren Martin

​As of April 2nd, 2020, COVID-19 has infected over 1 million people worldwide, with approximately 23% of those cases here in the United States.  We are facing unprecedented times with the current public health crisis and experiencing strains on our daily lives, economy, and healthcare system.  Schools are closed indefinitely, unemployment is at its highest in the past decade, and anxiety is increased by uncertainty.   Healthcare workers are suffering from heavy caseloads and inadequate PPE and medical equipment. ​

Hospitals need to increase capacity through temporary medical care facilities and alternate housing needs to be identified to shelter the displaced.  By all accounts we are in the preliminary stage of the outbreak and it is predicted that the worst is yet to come.  ​

No one person or entity can combat this crisis.  Although the United States is still in the acceleration pandemic stage, our government has taken a proactive step in releasing trillions of dollars to support our Nation, to include measures to respond and recover to COVID-19.

Under the President’s March 13 emergency declaration, and subsequent major disaster declarations, state, local, tribal, and territorial government entities and certain private non-profit (PNP) organizations are eligible to apply for public assistance, increasing federal support to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Eligible emergency protective measures taken to respond to the COVID-19 emergency at the direction or guidance of public health officials may be reimbursed under the PA program.  

Some activities FEMA will reimburse, include but are not limited to:

• Management, control and reduction of immediate threats to public health and safety
• Training specific to the declared event
• Disinfection of eligible public facilities
• Emergency Medical Care
• Medical Sheltering
• Communications of general health and safety
• Household Pet Sheltering
• Purchase and distribution of consumable supplies
• Security and law enforcement
• Force Account Labor

Check Out ISC's COVID-19 Innovations

COVID-19 Recovery Grant Management Tool

Learn More

Due to the complexity of federal disaster reimbursement and the burden it places on entities, ISC has developed a Grants Management Tool to help track disaster grants and gauge the progress of recovery across FEMA, HHS, CDC, and other federal disaster assistance funding sources.

For more information, visit our COVID-19 Innovation & Resources page to access Recovery Fact Sheets and see how FEMA may be of assistance to you and your organization.

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About Lauren:
Lauren serves as the Director of Controls & Quality for ISC and led a team of architects in the development of ISC’s Odysseus™ | Grant Management Tool (GMT).   Lauren Martin has over a decade of emergency management experience and has supported the response and recovery efforts for some of our nation's most catastrophic events.  She possess intimate programmatic knowledge in Federal disaster assistance programs, which has enabled her in past disaster operations to successfully represent clients and negotiate with key officials on controversial issues.