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The $70 Billion Question – CARES Act Provider Relief Fund Helping Hardest Hit Hospitals First

April 23, 2020

HHS finally unveiled its preliminary plan for disbursement of the remaining $70 billion of CARES Act Provider Relief Funds. The initial $30 billion was disbursed to providers based on 2019 Medicare fee-for-service payments. HHS indicated that the remaining $70 billion would be disbursed to (1) providers that incurred COVID-19 expenses, (2) rural providers, (3) providers that primarily receive payments from other sources (such as Medicaid), and (4) providers that treat uninsured Americans.

How will the funds be distributed?

First, $10 billion will go to hospitals that have been impacted hardest by COVID-19. This will be based upon the total number of admitted patients who tested positive for COVID-19. Hospitals will have until April 23, 2020 at midnight to apply and should have received an email with a link to the portal (there is no website similar to the payment attestation).

Providers will need to submit the following information (HHS estimates this should take 5 minutes):

  • Tax Identification Number
  • National Provider Identifier
  • Total number of Intensive Care Unit beds as of April 10, 2020
  • Total number of admissions with a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 from January 1, 2020 to April 10, 2020

Second, an additional $20 billion will be rolled out based on overall patient revenue. There will likely be an application or reporting mechanism. Payments will be issued on a rolling basis. Stay tuned for updates on application release or additional information.

Third, an additional $30 billion is set aside for SNFs, dentists, and providers that only service Medicaid providers.

More information can be found by following the link below.

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/04/22/hhs-announces-additional-allocations-of-cares-act-provider-relief-fund.html

For questions, contact your primary BMD Healthcare or Hospital Law attorney.

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