COVID-19 Relief

Dear Neighbors, 

These have been interesting and somewhat challenging times for all of us. This is because the coronavirus was unexpected and has been devastating to many businesses. We are at Upstate Professional Center and have decided to partner with you so that we are all ultimately successful. Over the last year,  you may have noticed several changes on the premises including renovations, refurbishments, paving, painting, etc.

Despite COVID-19, we have to continue to pay our mortgage, our bills including electricity, maintenance, lawn and  snow plowing, water bill emergency maintenance, insurance on the building, internet and several other repair and maintenance issues.

If the federal government comes out with a program to assist owners, we will definitely pass this onto you. Right now we are not aware of any incentives for building owners as the government has done for small business owners.

Below are some tips we have been gathering about helping out of this rut. If you are aware of these, please be patient with us. If you’re not aware, I want to inform you of there are government programs available that can help.

1. Skip a mortgage payment.
You may be able to skip a mortgage payment on your home loan without penalty.

2. Look into a payment protection plan.
I want to share the information below with you.  New guidance and coverage have come out this week, though it is constantly changing.
There are “loans” that do not have to be repaid if you continue to pay your staff.  In addition, they cover expenses like rent, including equipment rentals, utilities, payroll and health insurance if you keep your staff on payroll although not working.  To apply, go to the bank you use for your banking and they will fill out a form for you for funding. Generally, you need your last two full years of taxes, expenses, employees etc.

3. Apply for a small business loan.
Apply for up to $2 million with a low interest-rate and pay over the next 30 years. 

4. Facebook offers relief grants to local newsrooms.
Facebook has invested an additional $100 million to support the news industry during the Coronavirus crisis. More information can be found here.

Those are some additional resources that can help us navigate through this…Just remember we are all fighters. We will go through this together and come out victorious. 

For further more information about all these loans and others you may visit the following websites:

• Overviews: The American Medical Association (AMA) provides a four-page, comprehensive overview of the provisions related to the healthcare industry. A Senate Appropriations Committee summary describes the entire bill. Below are key aspects of the legislation:
  • Small Business Loans: The bill creates a new Paycheck Protection Program within the Small Business Administration to provide loans of up to $10 million to help cover payroll and overhead costs, with expanded loan forgiveness criteria—physician practices with not more than 500 employees may qualify. These loans are given through SBA-approved  lenders. The legislation also authorizes $10 billion for an emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) to eligible entities with not more than 500 employees.
  • Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund: The bill creates a new fund of $100 billion to cover non-reimbursable expenses (including PPE, staffing, training, and lost revenue) attributable to COVID-19. Health care entities, including physician practices, that provide health care, diagnoses, or testing are eligible—notably, reimbursement is not only available for hospitals and CAHs, but also other Medicare or Medicaid enrolled providers and suppliers. The bill provides little guidance on how the funds will be dispersed—we will update MMS members when the HHS guidance on this provision is released, likely in the next week. In the interim, providers can begin estimating and documenting expenses incurred and lost revenues related to their COVID-19 response. This could include costs related to delaying and cancelling non-emergency procedures, shifting types of service, providing free testing or screening, etc.
  • Personal Protective Equipment: $16 billion is allocated to the Strategic National Stockpile to procure PPE, ventilators, and other medical supplies for federal and state response efforts.
  • Medicare Sequester Suspension: The Medicare sequester, which reduces payments to providers by 2%, is temporarily lifted from May through December 2020.
  • Telehealth: The bill allows the HHS Secretary to waive additional requirements to increase Medicare flexibility during the emergency period; allows Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and Rural Health Clinics (RHC) to furnish telehealth services in Medicare; increases Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant programs that promote the use of telehealth; among other provisions. The AMA overview has a detailed section on the telehealth provisions and their telemedicine guide has resources for providers implementing telemedicine. For specific questions on telehealth implementation or payment, visit the MMS COVID-19 webpage “Telehealth and Virtual Care” or contact pprc@mms.org.

I also find this link from retirement plans remarkable.

How Upstate Professional Center Can Help

1. We recently sent out a new three-lease year term to neighbors without a current lease. We are prepared to change this from a 3 year to a 1or 2 year lease if anyone so desires.

2. We have changed the effective date of the new last lease to be July 1, 2020 as opposed to May 1, 2020.

Thank you for working with us during this difficult time. I am convinced that we will  come out on the other side together and stronger.

Thanks, 
Upstate Professional Center Management