FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
HHS
Announces Enhanced Provider Portal, Relief Fund Payments for Safety Net
Hospitals, Medicaid & CHIP Providers
Today, the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources
and Services Administration (HRSA), is announcing additional distributions
from the Provider Relief Fund to eligible Medicaid and Children’s Health
Insurance Program (CHIP) providers that participate in state Medicaid and
CHIP programs. HHS expects to distribute approximately $15 billion to
eligible providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs and
have not received a payment from the Provider Relief Fund General
Distribution. HHS is also announcing the distribution of $10 billion in
Provider Relief Funds to safety net hospitals that serve our most
vulnerable citizens. The safety net distribution will occur this week.
“Healthcare providers
who focus on treating the most vulnerable Americans, including low-income
and minority patients, are absolutely essential to our fight against
COVID-19,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “HHS is using funds from Congress,
secured by President Trump, to provide new targeted help for America’s
safety-net providers and clinicians who treat millions of Medicaid
beneficiaries.”
HHS is providing
support to healthcare providers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic through the
bipartisan CARES Act
and the Paycheck
Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which
allocated $175 billion in relief funds to hospitals and other healthcare
providers, including those disproportionately impacted by this pandemic.
ENHANCED PROVIDER RELIEF FUND PORTAL
On Wednesday, HHS is
launching an enhanced Provider Relief Fund Payment Portal that will allow
eligible Medicaid and CHIP providers to report their annual patient
revenue, which will be used as a factor in determining their Provider
Relief Fund payment. The payment to each provider will be at least 2
percent of reported gross revenue from patient care; the final amount each
provider receives will be determined after the data is submitted, including
information about the number of Medicaid patients providers serve.
The initial General
Distribution provided payments to approximately 62 percent of all providers
participating in state Medicaid and CHIP programs. The Medicaid and CHIP
Targeted distribution will make the Provider Relief Fund available to the
remaining 38 percent. HHS has already provided relief funding to over one
million providers, and today’s announcement is expected to reach several
hundred thousand more providers, many of whom are safety net providers
operating on thin margins.
Clinicians that
participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs and/or Medicaid and CHIP
managed care organizations who have not yet received General Distribution
funding may submit their annual patient revenue information to the enhanced
Provider Relief Fund Portal to receive a distribution equal to at least 2
percent of reported gross revenues from patient care. This funding will
supply relief to Medicaid and CHIP providers experiencing lost revenues or
increased expenses due to COVID-19. Examples of providers serving
Medicaid/CHIP beneficiaries possibly eligible for this funding,
include pediatricians, obstetrician-gynecologists, dentists, opioid
treatment and behavioral health providers, assisted living facilities, and
other home and community-based services providers.
To be eligible for
this funding, health care providers must not have received payments from
the $50 billion Provider Relief Fund General Distribution and either have
directly billed their state Medicaid/CHIP programs or Medicaid managed care
plans for healthcare-related services between January 1, 2018, to May 31, 2020.
Close to one million health care providers may be eligible for this
funding.
More information
about eligibility and the application process is available at https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/cares-act-provider-relief-fund/general-information/index.html
$10 BILLION ALLOCATION FOR SAFETY NET HOSPITALS
HHS is announcing the
distribution of $10 billion in Provider Relief Funds to safety net
hospitals that serve our most vulnerable citizens, recognizing the
incredibly thin margins these hospitals operate on. This payment is being
sent directly to these hospitals via direct deposit.
This payment is going
to hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of Medicaid patients or
provide large amounts of uncompensated care. Qualifying hospitals will
have:
- A Medicare Disproportionate Payment
Percentage (DPP) of 20.2 percent or greater;
- Average Uncompensated Care per bed of
$25,000 or more. For example, a hospital with 100 beds would need to
provide $2,500,000 in Uncompensated Care in a year to meet this
requirement;
- Profitability of 3 percent or less, as
reported to CMS in its most recently filed Cost Report.
Recipients will
receive a minimum distribution of $5 million and a maximum distribution of
$50 million.
ADDITIONAL PROVIDER RELIEF FUND UPDATES
- On Monday, June 8, 2020, HHS sent
communications to all hospitals asking them to update information on
their COVID-19 positive-inpatient admissions for the period January 1,
2020, through June 10, 2020. This information will be used to
determine a second round of funding to hospitals in COVID-19 hotspots
to ensure they are equitably supported in the battle against this
pandemic. To determine their eligibility for funding under this $10
billion distribution, hospitals must submit their information by June
15, 2020 at 9:00 PM ET.
- HHS is working on an additional allocation
to distribute relief broadly to dentists.
For updated
information and data on the Provider Relief Fund, visit hhs.gov/providerrelief
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