06/08/2020

HHS Update on Provider Relief Guidance Includes Details on Eligible Expenses and Lost Revenues

AAHomecare 6/05/2020 COVID-19 Update

HHS has provided additional updates to their extensive list of FAQs related to the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund, including sharing a link to their list of providers who have received payments, along with amounts received.

Providers may be especially interested in this newly-added question providing significant detail on what kind of expenses or lost revenues are considered eligible relief (found on page 5-6 of the FAQs):

The Terms and Conditions state that Provider Relief Fund payments will only be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus and shall reimburse the Recipient only for healthcare-related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to coronavirus. What expenses or lost revenues are considered eligible for reimbursement? (added 6/2/2020)

The term “health care related expenses attributable to coronavirus” is a broad term that may cover a range of items and services purchased to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including:

• supplies used to provide healthcare services for possible or actual COVID-19 patients;
• equipment used to provide healthcare services for possible or actual COVID-19 patients;
• workforce training;
• developing and staffing emergency operation centers;
• reporting COVID-19 test results to federal, state, or local governments;
• building or constructing temporary structures to expand capacity for COVID-19 patient care or to provide healthcare services to non-COVID-19 patients in a separate area from where COVID-19 patients are being treated; and
• acquiring additional resources, including facilities, equipment, supplies, healthcare practices, staffing, and technology to expand or preserve care delivery.

Providers may have incurred eligible health care related expenses attributable to coronavirus prior to the date on which they received their payment. Providers can use their Provider Relief Fund payment for such expenses incurred on any date, so long as those expenses were attributable to coronavirus and were used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. HHS expects that it would be highly unusual for providers to have incurred eligible expenses prior to January 1, 2020.

The term “lost revenues that are attributable to coronavirus” means any revenue that you as a healthcare provider lost due to coronavirus. This may include revenue losses associated with fewer outpatient visits, canceled elective procedures or services, or increased uncompensated care. Providers can use Provider Relief Fund payments to cover any cost that the lost revenue otherwise would have covered, so long as that cost prevents, prepares for, or responds to coronavirus. Thus, these costs do not need to be specific to providing care for possible or actual coronavirus patients, but the lost revenue that the Provider Relief Fund payment covers must have been lost due to coronavirus. HHS encourages the use of funds to cover lost revenue so that providers can respond to the coronavirus public health emergency by maintaining healthcare delivery capacity, such as using Provider Relief Fund payments to cover:

• Employee or contractor payroll
• Employee health insurance
• Rent or mortgage payments
• Equipment lease payments
• Electronic health record licensing fees

All providers receiving Provider Relief Fund payments will be required to comply with the reporting requirements described in the Terms and Conditions and specified in future directions issued by the Secretary. HHS will provide guidance in the future about the type of documentation we expect recipients to submit. Additional guidance will be posted at https://www.hhs.gov/provider-relief/index.html.
 

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All told, fifteen new questions have been added and answers to eight others have been modified in the General Distribution section of the FAQs since our last update:

• If I changed my mind after I rejected a Provider Relief Fund Targeted Distribution payment through the Attestation Portal and returned the payment, can I receive a new payment? (added 5/29/20) – page 2
• What action does a provider need to take after receiving a Provider Relief Fund payment? (modified 5/26/2020) – page 2
• What if I attested and accepted a Provider Relief Fund payment, but would now like to reject the funds and retract my attestation?  (added 6/3/2020) – page 3
• How can I return a payment I received under the Provider Relief Fund? (modified 5/26/2020) – page 3
• What is the definition of Executive Level II pay level, as referenced in the Terms and Conditions? (added 5/29/2020) – page 4
• Can providers who have ceased operation due to the COVID-19 pandemic still receive this funding? (added 5/29/2020) – page 4
• If a provider secures COVID-19-related funding separate from the Provider Relief Fund, such as the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, does that affect how they can use the payments from the Provider Relief Fund?  Does accepting Provider Relief Fund payments preclude a provider organization from seeking other funds authorized under the CARES Act?  (added 5/29/2020) – page 5
• How will HHS recoup funds from providers that are required to repay all or part of a Provider Relief Fund payment? (added 5/29/2020) – page 5
• Is there a publicly available list of providers and the payments they received through the Provider Relief Fund? (modified 5/26/2020) – page 8
• How is HHS publicly reporting Provider Relief Fund payments? Would it be accurate to add the payments received by a health care provider together based on the provider’s name in order to determine how much a particular organization has received as a whole? (added 5/29/2020) – page 9 
• How did HHS determine the additional payments under the General Distribution? (modified 5/29/2020) – page 9
• I am a healthcare provider that received a previous General Distribution payment and I submitted my revenue information through DocuSign. Why am I not receiving an additional payment? (modified 5/29/2020) – page 10
• What should a provider do if a General Distribution payment is greater than expected or received in error? (modified 5/26/2020) – page 11
• In the case of a parent organization with multiple billing TINs that may have each received payment, may the parent organization attest to the Terms and Conditions and keep the payments? (added 6/2/2020) – page 14
• I submitted my revenue information in the Provider Payment Portal.  Why am I being asked to resubmit my information? (added 6/2/2020) – page 20
• What action should I take in order to resubmit my revenue information? (added 6/2/2020) – page 20
• Will the amount of the potential payment be affected if my submission has been identified for resubmission? (added 6/2/2020)
• Do all providers who submitted revenue information in the Provider Payment Portal have to resubmit their information? (added 6/2/2020) – page 20
• I was not able to submit my revenue information to the General Distribution Portal by June 3, 2020 to be considered for a portion of the $20 billion General Distribution.  Can I still be considered for these funds? (added 6/3/2020) – page 20
• I wasn’t able to attest to the $20 billion General Distribution funding by June 3, 2020.  What should I do? (added 6/3/2020) – page 21
• How long does it take for HHS to make a decision on additional General Distribution funding?  When can I expect to receive additional funds? (modified 5/29/2020) – page 21
• How will HHS notify me that my application has been processed? (modified 5/29/2020) – page 21

The FAQs also include additional new questions and guidance related to hospitals, SNFs, and other clinical facilities in targeted areas starting on page 22. Suppliers are urged to check the Provider Relief Fund website regularly for additional updates.