Member News — Member & Society News
HHS Responds to Push Back, Revises Provider Relief Fund Reporting Requirements
As reported last week, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) in September issued reporting requirements for recipients of CARES Act Provider Relief Funds (PRF), changing course from its earlier definition of lost revenues the PRF funds are intended to cover. In response to opposition from health care organizations and lawmakers the agency reverted to its original position on October 22, opting not to take operating costs into account when calculating providers’ lost revenue due to the pandemic. In the reporting requirements, it now defines lost revenues attributable to coronavirus as the “negative change in year-over-year actual revenue from patient care related sources” and no longer as the “negative change in year-over-year net operating income from patient care related sources.”
The reporting requirements otherwise remain the same. Providers have to report revenue and track financials quarterly by type (Medicare Part B, Part D, Medicaid, etc.) and will only have one month to input all the data into the reporting portal before reporting is due on February 15, 2021. There will be no access to the reporting portal until Jan. 15, 2021, and HHS has not yet released instructions on how to enter the information.
See October 22 Policy Update and amended HHS Notice of Reporting Requirements.
ASRS will continue to keep you informed as further information is released. If you have questions, please contact Jill Blim.
(Published October 28, 2020)