ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - We’re getting word of more frustration for those trying to get help from the federal government to recover some of the losses caused by coronavirus, this time involving healthcare providers.
"I spent a couple of hours yesterday evening," says Theraputic Specialties President Michael Bender, "then I spent a couple hours this morning working on it."
Bender was trying to apply for a healthcare provider grant under the CARES Act, but the online portal would not allow him to complete the process. He says he talked with several people who couldn't help, before getting an answer.
"Finally somebody said, 'Well, there's kind of a glitch in our web portal. It's all new. We just opened it a day ago so, we're hoping to have it fixed by Friday,'" Bender says.
Bender says the applications are bundled together and submitted at noon every Wednesday, so his application will be delayed by at least a week. And while the grants are not supposed to be doled out in a first-come, first-served basis, he's afraid the delay could leave him out in the cold.
"They have a finite amount of money on the second round," Bender says. "So, the first batch of providers that may have gotten through are going to have a payment and the next round after that, the following week's batch may or may not have the funds left"
Bender says new referrals to his business were down 70% in April.