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HHS News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: HHS Press
Office
April 22, 2020
202-690-6343
HHS Announces Additional
Allocations of CARES Act Provider Relief Fund
President Donald
J. Trump signed the bipartisan CARES Act legislation to provide relief to
American families, workers, and the heroic healthcare providers on the
frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak. $100 billion is being distributed by
the Administration to healthcare providers, including hospitals battling
this disease.
“The healthcare
providers on the frontlines of the pandemic are heroic, and President
Trump recognizes that every American healthcare provider has pitched in
for this fight in some way,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “Our goal in
all of the decisions we’re making is to get the money from the Provider
Relief Fund out the door as quickly as possible while targeting it to
those suffering the most from the pandemic. We will continue using every
regulatory and payment flexibility we have to help providers continue
doing their vital work until we’ve defeated this virus.”
In allocating the
funds, the Administration is working to address both the economic harm
across the entire healthcare system due to the stoppage of elective
procedures, and addressing the economic impact on providers incurring
additional expenses caring for COVID-19 patients, and to do so as quickly
and transparently as possible.
GENERAL
ALLOCATION
- $50 billion of the
Provider Relief Fund is allocated for general distribution to
Medicare facilities and providers impacted by COVID-19, based on
eligible providers’ 2018 net patient revenue.
- To expedite providers
getting money as quickly as possible, $30 billion was distributed
immediately, proportionate to providers’ share of Medicare
fee-for-service reimbursements in 2019. On Friday, April 10, $26
billion was delivered to bank accounts. The remaining $4 billion of
the expedited $30 billion distribution was sent on April 17.
- This simple formula,
working with the data we had, was used to get the money out the
door as quickly as possible. We were very clear that additional
funds would be going out quickly to help providers with a
relatively small share of their revenue coming from Medicare
fee-for-service, such as children’s hospitals.
- Those funds are
beginning to be delivered this week. HHS will begin distribution of
the remaining $20 billion of the general distribution to these
providers to augment their allocation so that the whole $50 billion
general distribution is allocated proportional to providers’ share
of 2018 net patient revenue.
- On April 24, a portion
of providers will automatically be sent an advance payment based
off the revenue data they submit in CMS cost reports. Providers
without adequate cost report data on file will need to submit their
revenue information to a portal opening this week at https://www.hhs.gov/providerrelief
for additional general distribution funds.
- Providers who receive
their money automatically will still need to submit their revenue
information so that it can be verified.
- Payments will go out
weekly, on a rolling basis, as information is validated, with the
first wave being delivered at the end of this week (April 24,
2020).
- Providers who receive
funds from the general distribution have to sign
an attestation confirming receipt of funds and agree to the
terms and conditions of payment and confirm the CMS cost report.
- The terms and conditions
also include other measures to help prevent fraud and misuse of the
funds. All recipients will be required to submit documents
sufficient to ensure that these funds were used for
healthcare-related expenses or lost revenue attributable to
coronavirus. There will be significant anti-fraud and auditing work
done by HHS, including the work of the Office of the Inspector
General.
- President Trump is
committed to ending surprise bills for patients. As part of this
commitment, as a condition to receiving these funds, providers must
agree not to seek collection of out-of-pocket payments from a
presumptive or actual COVID-19 patient that are greater than what
the patient would have otherwise been required to pay if the care
had been provided by an in-network provider.
TARGETED
ALLOCATIONS
ALLOCATION
FOR COVID-19 HIGH IMPACT AREAS
- $10 billion will be
allocated for a targeted distribution to hospitals in areas that
have been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. As an
example, hospitals serving COVID-19 patients in New York, which has
a high percentage of total confirmed COVID-19 cases, are expected to
receive a large share of the funds.
- Hospitals should apply
for a portion of the funds by providing four simple pieces of
information via an authentication portal before midnight PT,
Thursday April 23. This portal is live, and hospitals have already
been contacted directly to provide this information.
- Hospitals will need to
provide:
- 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
- The authentication and
data-sharing process should take less than five minutes via a
system that should be familiar to most hospitals.
- This information is
necessary for the government to determine what facilities will
qualify for a targeted distribution. Supplying this information
does not guarantee receipt of funds from this distribution.
- The Administration will
use the data it receives to distribute the targeted funds to where
the impact from COVID-19 is greatest. The distribution will take
into consideration the challenges faced by facilities serving a
significantly disproportionate number of low-income patients, as
reflected by their Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH)
Adjustment.
ALLOCATION
FOR TREATMENT OF THE UNINSURED
- The Trump Administration
is committed to ensuring that Americans are protected against
financial obstacles that might prevent them from getting the
treatment they need for COVID-19.
- As announced in early
April, a portion of the $100 billion Provider Relief Fund will be
used to reimburse healthcare providers, at Medicare rates, for
COVID-related treatment of the uninsured.
- Every health care
provider who has provided treatment for uninsured COVID-19 patients
on or after February 4, 2020, can request claims reimbursement
through the program and will be reimbursed at Medicare rates,
subject to available funding.
- Steps will involve:
enrolling as a provider participant, checking patient eligibility
and benefits, submitting patient information, submitting claims, and
receiving payment via direct deposit.
- Providers can register
for the program on April 27, 2020, and begin submitting claims in
early May 2020. For more information, visit coviduninsuredclaim.hrsa.gov.
ALLOCATION
FOR RURAL PROVIDERS
- $10 billion will be
allocated for rural health clinics and hospitals, most of which
operate on especially thin margins and are far less likely to be
profitable than their urban counterparts.
- This money will be
distributed as early as next week on the basis of operating expenses,
using a methodology that distributes payments proportionately to
each facility and clinic.
- This method recognizes
the precarious financial position of many rural hospitals, a
significant number of which are unprofitable.
- Rural hospitals are more
financially exposed to significant declines in revenue or increases
in expenses related to COVID-19 than their urban counterparts.
ALLOCATION
FOR INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE
- Recognizing the strain
experiences by the Indian Health Service, $400 million will be
allocated for Indian Health Service facilities, distributed on the
basis of operating expenses. Indian Country is also being impacted
by COVID-19.
- This money will be
distributed as early as next week on the basis of operating
expenses for facilities.
- This complements other
funding provided to IHS and work we’ve done to expand IHS capacity
for telehealth.
ADDITIONAL
ALLOCATIONS
- There are some providers
who will receive further, separate funding, including skilled
nursing facilities, dentists, and providers that solely take
Medicaid.
HELPING
ENSURE ALL AMERICANS HAVE ACCESS TO CARE
- The Families First
Coronavirus Response Act, as amended by the CARES Act,
requires private insurers to waive an insurance plan member’s
cost-sharing payments for COVID-19 testing. The President also
secured funding to cover COVID-19 testing for uninsured Americans.
- President Trump has also
secured commitments from private insurers, including Humana, Cigna,
UnitedHealth Group, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield system, to waive
cost-sharing payments for treatment related to COVID-19 for plan
members.
- Additionally, President
Trump is committed to ending surprise bills for patients. As part of
this commitment, as a condition to receiving general funds,
providers must agree not to seek collection of out-of-pocket
payments from a presumptive or actual COVID-19 patient that are
greater than what the patient would have otherwise been required to
pay if the care had been provided by an in-network provider.
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