HHS Updates: Apply for Provider Relief by Nov. 6, Changes to Reporting Requirements

A reminder that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is accepting applications for the most recent phase of Provider Relief Funding (PRF). Providers who have already received relief funds, as well as previously ineligible providers, are now eligible to apply. The deadline to apply is next Friday, Nov. 6. Click here for details.

Last week, HHS also announced that it is reversing course on the appropriate use of COVID-19 relief grants by providers. The changes mean that providers will be able to keep grant funds up to the amount of their year-over-year revenue difference from 2019 to 2020. 

Previously, HHS said that Provider Relief Fund grants could be used for coronavirus-related expenses or lost revenue, calculated by comparing actual or budgeted revenue for 2019 and 2020. In September, however, the agency said that providers had to compare net operating income instead, and that they had to show a negative change in year-over-year net patient care operating income. In response to negative feedback from the provider community, HHS amended the reporting instructions on October 22 to specify that, after reimbursing healthcare related expenses attributable to coronavirus that were unreimbursed by other sources, providers may use remaining PRF funds to cover any lost revenue, measured as a negative change in year-over-year actual revenue from patient care related sources.

Click here to read the amended reporting requirements. Click here for a policy memorandum from HHS. 

HHS also amended the PRF reporting timeline. The new guidance clarifies that providers will be required to track the revenue by type quarterly. The reporting portal opens on Jan. 15, 2021, and reports submission is due on Feb. 15, 2021.

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