Additional $20 Billion Available in Provider Relief Funding

On Thursday, October 1, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that an additional $20 billion would be added to the COVID-19 relief funding options for health care providers on the front lines of the health pandemic. Applications for this funding will be accepted starting on Monday, October 5, 2020, and closing on Friday, November 6, 2020.

Phase 3 of the HHS Provider Relief Funding will target certain providers as listed here:

• Providers who previously received, rejected, or accepted a general distribution payment (Providers that have already received payments of approximately 2% of annual revenue from patient care may submit more information to become eligible for an additional payment)
• Behavioral Health providers, including those that previously received funding and new providers
• Health care providers that began practicing January 1 through March 31, 2020 (including Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, dentists, assisted living facilities, and behavioral health providers)

The HHS also provides detail on the payment methodology for these funds as described here:

• All provider submissions will be reviewed to confirm that they have received payments equal to approximately 2% of patient care revenue from prior general distributions. Applicants that have not yet received payments of 2% will receive a payment that, when combined with any prior payments, equals 2% of patient care revenue
• HHS will then calculate an equitable add-on payment that considers:
  • a provider’s change in operating revenues from patient care
  • a provider’s change in operating expenses from patient care, including expenses incurred related to coronavirus
  • payments already received through prior provider relief fund distributions

Applying early for these funds is encouraged, as it can expedite the review and payment calculations process to accelerate funding distribution. Additional information can be found on the HHS website.