The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is making $25.5 billion in new provider relief funding available to healthcare providers. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of HHS, administers the provider relief programs on behalf of HHS. HRSA is using a single application portal to make $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) Rural payments and $17 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 General Distribution payments.
Providers must fall in to one of the following categories to be eligible:
a. Must have either directly billed, or owns (on the application date) an included subsidiary that has directly billed, their state/territory Medicaid program (fee-for service or managed care) or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for health care-related services during the period of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020; or
b. Must be a dental service provider who has either directly billed, or owns (on the application date) an included subsidiary that has directly billed, health insurance companies or patients for oral health care-related services during the period of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020;
c. Must have either directly billed, or owns (on the application date) an included subsidiary that has directly billed, Medicare fee-for-service (Parts A and/or B) or Medicare Advantage (Part C) for health care-related services during the period of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020;
d. Must be a state-licensed/certified assisted living facility on or before December 31, 2020;
e. Must be a behavioral health provider who has either directly billed, or owns (on the application date) an included subsidiary that has directly billed, health insurance companies or patients for health care-related services during the period of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020;
f. Must have received a prior Targeted Distribution payment.
The application portal for Round 4 of provider relief funds opened this week. You can access it at the following website:
The deadline to complete the first step of the application process is no later than October 26, 2021. Applications must undergo a number of validation checks before financial information is submitted so providers are encouraged to begin their application as soon as possible to ensure they are able to meet the deadline. Information on the documents and information needed to apply can be found in the resources following.
In order to streamline the application process and minimize administrative burdens, providers will apply for both programs in a single application, and HRSA will use existing Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicare claims data in calculating portions of these payments.
A sample application form can be found here:
The payment methodology for Phase 4 payments can be found here:
In addition to this, HHS released a series of new FAQ’s related to the provider relief funds. A complete and up to date list of all FAQ’s can be found here:
Please let us know if we can help you with anything provider relief fund related.
Lance Mann, CPA, CFE, CGMA
Assurance Director
lmann@deandorton.com • 502.566.1005
Adam Shewmaker, FHFMA
Healthcare Consulting Director
ashewmaker@ddafhealthcare.com • 502.566.1054