Provider Relief Fund

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This is the second of two posts discussing the June 11, 2021 updates to the PRF reporting requirements and FAQs.

As discussed in our earlier blog post, on June 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released revised COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund (“PRF”) Reporting Requirements, superseding all prior versions of reporting requirements issued by HHS, along with associated revised PRF FAQs, Reporting Portal FAQs, and a Reporting Portal Registration User Guide that each make conforming changes. In addition to the new deadlines discussed in the prior post, the June 11 PRF updates offer providers more clarity into the the priority of eligible uses, required reporting elements, and instructions on how to return unused funds.

This is the first of two posts discussing the June 11, 2021 updates to the PRF reporting requirements and FAQs.

On June 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released revised COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund (“PRF”) Reporting Requirements, superseding all prior versions of reporting requirements issued by HHS, along with associated revised PRF FAQs, Reporting Portal FAQs, and a Reporting Portal Registration User Guide that each make conforming changes. The updated Reporting Requirements come just three weeks prior to when PRF recipients would have been required to expend all received funds and when reporting was scheduled to commence (July 1, 2021).

Significantly, the updates give providers a longer runway to use funds, clarify the definition of “COVID-19 patient”, and provide insight into potential upcoming PRF distributions. The updated Reporting Requirements represent the Biden Administration’s first actions to modify the PRF, which distributes federal grants to help providers offset revenue shortfalls and expenses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest COVID-19 stimulus bill, the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (the “Act”), enacted on March 11, 2021, provides $1.9 trillion in funding for various COVID-19 relief measures. However, while the Act includes many funding provisions, including those funding direct assistance to lower-income individuals and families, expanding “Obamacare” insurance subsidies and availability, increasing federal medical assistance percentage (“FMAP”) rates for Medicaid programs under certain circumstances, supporting public health workforce development, funding technical assistance to skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”), and bolstering COVID-19 vaccine and testing efforts, it also has a few provisions that create new or directly augment existing financial supports available to providers and hospitals that have sustained losses during the pandemic.

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