The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was created by the CARES Act and provided a mechanism for businesses to receive funds to cover two months of payroll and other approved expenses, such as rent, utilities and health insurance premiums. If the use of funds meets certain criteria, PPP loans are forgivable up to 100%. Needless to say – despite some program quirks – these loans delivered welcome relief to businesses, especially small homecare companies.
This article summarized an analysis of PPP loan proceeds and concluded that 15,000 homecare agencies, who each received less than $150,000 in loans, were able to salvage 160,175 jobs. Texas, California and Florida, saw the largest number of retained homecare jobs, saving 21,541, 19,186 and 11,039 jobs, respectively. This is not surprising as 5,400 agencies in these three states received $224 million.
On the other hand, Idaho – which the author termed an ‘unlikely suspect’ – retained the most employees, on average, at about 20 for each of its 60 homecare agencies. The article concluded that although the PPP benefited homecare agencies, these companies also experienced higher costs for PPE, overtime, hazard pay and decreased utilization, which impacted their profitability. The end result may have been more of a band-aid than pathway to sustainability.