HHS Extends Deadline for Provider Relief Fund

From ANCOR:

HHS will be extending the application deadline for federal Provider Relief Fund payments to Medicaid providers by two weeks, from this coming Monday, July 20, to August 3.

This extension is being made because only about 1% of Medicaid providers nationally have completed applications, only about 60,000 have initiated applications, and only about 6% have even visited the portal.

HHS has also signaled that there will be a “Phase 3” of distribution of CARES Act funds to help continue to distribute relief funds, and to pick up “Medicaid dependent” providers that were foreclosed from participating in the current portal opportunity because of having previously qualified for, but not having been cued to attest to, nominal amounts of Medicare relief.

I confirmed this extension announcement with NAMD & NASDDDS.  HHS should be making an official announcement within the next couple of hours.

Background on the Provider Relief Fund:

The Provider Relief Fund (PRF), created under the federal CARES Act, is designed “to support the providers’ healthcare related expenses or lost revenue attributable to COVID-19, so long as the payment is used to prevent, prepare for, or respond to coronavirus and those expenses or lost revenue are not reimbursed from other sources or other sources were not obligated to reimburse them.” (See HHS Provider Relief Fund FAQ).

Key details on the Medicaid awards:

• Total Amount: $15 billion for Medicaid providers.
• Eligibility: Any provider that did NOT receive a funding award from the first $50 billion in awards made to providers with some level of Medicare utilization, and directly billed a state Medicaid program or Medicaid managed care plan between January 1, 2018 and May 31, 2020.
• Process: Providers submit annual patient revenue information and other required documentation to HHS’s provider relief fund portal.
• Award Amounts: Minimum of two percent of gross patient care revenues, with final amount determined by provider-submitted data including number of Medicaid patients served.

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Shannon McCracken
Vice President of Government Relations
ANCOR
606.271.3555
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