HHS extends deadlines to spend and report Provider Relief Fund money

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has revised requirements for physicians and other health professionals who received Provider Relief Funds (PRF) through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The June 11 revisions expand the amount of time physicians and other recipients will have to report information, and allow those who received payments after June 30, 2020, more time to spend their PRF money.

The new deadlines are as follows:

More details about the revisions can be found on the HHS Cares Act Provider Relief Fund Reporting and Auditing webpage and the updated Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements.

Key changes include:

• The timeline to spend funds is based on the date the payment is received (rather than requiring all payments be used by June 30, 2021, regardless of when they were received).
• Those who receive one or more payments exceeding $10,000 in aggregate during a payment period are required to report in each applicable reporting period, as outlined in the table above.
• Reporting periods have been extended to 90 days (rather than 30).
• The reporting requirements now apply to recipients of the Skilled Nursing Facility and Nursing Home Infection Control Distribution in addition to General and other Targeted Distributions.
• Physicians and others receiving funds should register now in the PRF Reporting Portal in advance of the relevant reporting period dates. The registration process will take approximately 20 minutes and must be completed in one session. (The portal is compatible only with the most current versions of the Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox web browsers.) For more information about the registration process, refer to the PRF Reporting Portal User Guide and the Reporting Portal FAQs.
• The PRF Reporting Portal will open July 1, 2021.

These reporting requirements do not apply to other pandemic-related financial assistance programs, such as the Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Testing Program; the COVID-19 Claims Reimbursement to Health Care Providers and Facilities for Testing, Treatment, and Vaccine Administration for the Uninsured Program; or the COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund.

HHS has posted the names of PRF payment recipients and their amounts received on a public website. Work with your financial and tax advisers to complete the reporting process, if applicable to you. Additional information on the PRF can also be found on the American Academy of Family Physicians’ website.

— Sandy Pogones, Senior Strategist for Healthcare Quality, and Kent Moore, Senior Strategist for Physician Payment