Volume 20.26
Congress appropriated funding to reimburse eligible health care providers for health care related expenses or lost revenues attributable to coronavirus. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is administering the distribution of payments under the Provider Relief Funding (“PRF”) program, funded through appropriations in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136) and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (P.L. 116-139).
Each recipient of a payment from the PRF that used any part of that payment agreed to a set of Terms and Conditions (“T&Cs”) which, among other obligations, require each recipient to submit reports to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The reports shall be in such form, with such content, as specified by the Secretary of HHS in future program instructions directed to all recipients.
These reporting instructions will provide directions on reporting obligations applicable to any provider that received a payment from the following CARES Act/PRF distributions:
- General Distributions:
- Initial Medicare Distribution
- Additional Medicare Distribution
- Medicaid, Dental & CHIP Distribution
- Targeted Distributions:
- High Impact Area Distribution
- Rural Distribution
- Skilled Nursing Facilities Distribution
- Indian Health Service Distribution
- Safety Net Hospital Distribution
The reports will allow providers to demonstrate compliance with the T&Cs, including use of funds for allowable purposes, for each PRF payment. HRSA plans to provide recipients with Question and Answer (“Q&A”) Sessions via Webinar in advance of the submission deadline. Additional details will be provided later regarding the Q&A Sessions.
Notice has been given that providers who received an individual payment exceeding $10,000 will be required to report use of the funds beginning on October 1, 2020. No explanation has been provided for requiring providers receiving less than the originally stated $150,000 to file reports.
The reporting system will become available to recipients for reporting beginning on October 1, 2020.
- All recipients must report within 45 days of the end of calendar year 2020 on their expenditures through the period ending December 31, 2020.
- Recipients who have expended funds in full prior to December 31, 2020 may submit a single final report at any time during the window that begins October 1, 2020, but no later than February 15, 2021.
- Recipients with funds unexpended after December 31, 2020, must submit a second and final report no later than July 31, 2021.
Detailed PRF reporting instructions and a data collection template with the necessary data elements will be available through the HRSA website by August 17, 2020. This information can also be reviewed here.
We will keep our readers informed as reporting events transpire. Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have at contact@healthgroup.com or directly reaching out to our professional staff.