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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

12. Commitments and Contingencies

Government Actions to Mitigate COVID-19’s Impact

On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) declared a national public health emergency due to a novel coronavirus. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19, a disease caused by this novel coronavirus, a pandemic. This disease continues to spread throughout the United States and other parts of the world.

In recognition of the significant threat to the liquidity of financial markets posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve and Congress have taken dramatic actions to provide liquidity to businesses and the banking system in the United States. For example, on March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the CARES Act, a sweeping stimulus bill intended to bolster the U.S. economy. The PPPHCE Act and the CAA both expansions of the CARES Act, were signed into law on April 24, 2020 and December 27, 2020, respectively. In total, the CARES Act, the PPPHCE Act and CAA authorize $178 billion in funding to be distributed to health care providers through the Provider Relief Fund. This funding is intended to support healthcare providers by reimbursing them for healthcare-related expenses or lost revenues attributable to COVID-19.

In addition to the Provider Relief Fund, the CARES Act includes temporary changes to Medicare and Medicaid payment rules and relief from certain accounting provisions, for example temporarily lifting the Medicare sequester, which would have otherwise reduced payments to Medicare providers by 2%, from May 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021 (but also extending sequestration through 2030). The Medicare sequester relief resulted in an increase of $0.2 million to home health net service revenues and $1.3 million to hospice net service revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020.

It is impossible to predict the effect and ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company as the situation continues to rapidly evolve. See Note 7 for additional information regarding government stimulus advances the Company has received.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, the Company is subject to legal and/or administrative proceedings incidental to its business. It is the opinion of management that the outcome of pending legal and/or administrative proceedings will not have a material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Income.