Provider Relief Fund Deadline Extended for Medicaid Providers

HHS recently announced that it extended the deadline for Medicaid providers and plans to apply for $15 billion in Phase 2 general distribution payments from the Provider Relief Fund.

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The new deadline is Friday, August 28, 2020, for Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and dental providers eligible to receive the funding of up to 2 percent of reported revenue from patient care, according to HHS.

The same deadline will also apply to certain Medicare providers who experienced challenges applying for Phase 1 Medicare general distribution payments. This includes providers or provider practices that experienced a change in ownership in 2020, resulting in missed Provider Relief Fund payments from the Medicare general distribution round.

Starting next week, HHS reported, Medicare providers who missed the opportunity to apply for the $20 billion portion of the $50 billion Phase 1 Medicare general distribution will be able to submit an application through August 28, 2020.

The Medicare providers will be considered for funding up to 2 percent of their annual patient revenues.

"From the start, HHS's administration of the Provider Relief Fund has been focused on distributing funding in a way that is fast, fair and transparent," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in the announcement. "Extending the deadline for Medicaid providers and giving certain Medicare providers another shot at funding is another example of our work with providers to ensure as many as possible receive the support they need."

HHS also stated in the announcement that it is considering ways to get COVID-19 relief payments to new providers in 2020, along with those who have yet to receive any funding from the government. This may include providers who only bill commercial payers or do not directly bill for services they provide under the Medicare or Medicaid programs.

The federal department plans to make future announcements regarding the funding distribution.

Congress allocated $175 billion the Provider Relief Fund to support healthcare providers facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

HHS has distributed the funds according to provider type. The department, for example, earmarked $50 billion for a general distribution to Medicare providers. The funds will go to about 335,000 providers who bill for Medicare fee-for-service.

HHS has also announced more targeted distributions, including $22 billion for hospitals in COVID-19 hot spots, $11 billion for rural providers, and $13 billion for safety-net hospitals.

The relief funding for Medicaid, CHIP, and dental providers is part of HHS’ Phase 2 of general distribution of the Provider Relief Fund. HHS expects to dole out $15 billion to eligible providers that have yet to receive emergency relief payments from Phase 1 of Provider Relief Fund General Distribution.

Distribution of the funds, however, will be application-based unlike the first round of payments from Phase 1 of the Provider Relief Fund General Distribution, during which HHS automatically sent payments to Medicare providers.

Medicaid, CHIP, and dental providers who submit an application and receive the targeted relief payments must use the funds to “cover lost revenue attributable to COVID-19 or health related expenses purchased to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus,” according to HHS terms and conditions.

Acceptable ways to use the funds include, but are not limited to:

• Supplies for possible or actual COVID-19 patients
• Equipment used to care for possible or actual COVID-19 patients
• Workforce training
• Reporting COVID-19 test results to federal, state, or local governments
• Building or constructing temporary care settings to expand capacity for COVID-19 patient care or to provide services to non-COVID-19 patients in a separate area from where COVID-19 patients are being treated
• Acquiring additional resources, including facilities, equipment, supplies, practices, employees, and technology to expand or maintain care delivery
• Developing and staffing emergency operation centers

Healthcare providers may have to submit reports on how they used Provider Relief Funds, according to the terms and conditions of payment acceptance.

HHS recently provided more details on Provider Relief Funding requirements for providers who received one or more payments exceeding $10,000. These providers will need to demonstrate their compliance with payment terms and conditions within 45 days of the end of the 2020 calendar year, HHS reported.