Deadline to Apply for Additional HHS Relief Payments (Round 2) June 3rd
Those of you who received a payment from HHS between April 10 and April 24th (the payments that were automatically sent to you, that you didn’t ask for or apply for) are able to apply for a second round of HHS Relief Payments. In fact, ONLY companies that received Round 1 HHS relief payments can apply for Round 2. I’ve included a few links below that are pertinent to the Round 2 application process. You need to complete the attestation process for Round 1 before you can apply for Round 2. If you haven’t already done that, you can complete that attestation process at: https://covid19.linkhealth.com/#/step/1.
Here are the important links for Round 2 of the General Distribution HHS Payments:
- General overview of the HHS Relief Payment Program
- Application for Round 2
- Terms and Conditions
- FAQs
Below is some additional guidance that HHS issued (through their FAQ document linked above) within the last couple of days regarding the Round 2 HHS Relief Payments. This information will be important to consider when making your decision regarding whether your company would like to apply for the additional payment. As you will see below, if Medicare represents a large portion of your overall business, your Round 1 payment would have been high (relatively speaking), because those Round 1 payments were tied only to the amount of Medicare FFS business you conducted in 2019. If that’s the case, there might not be much available to you, if anything at all, in Round 2. However, if Medicare FFS represents a fairly small portion of your overall business, because Round 2 now factors in your “entire book” of business, the payment in Round 2 could be higher than what your business received in Round 1.
Determining Additional Payments
Q: How did HHS determine the additional payments under the General Distribution? (Added 5/14/2020)
A: HHS is distributing an additional $20 billion of the General Distribution to providers to augment their initial allocation so that $50 billion is allocated proportional to providers' share of 2018 net patient revenue. The allocation methodology is designed to provide relief to providers, who bill Medicare fee-for-service, with at least 2% of that provider’s net patient revenue regardless of the provider’s payer mix. Payments are determined based on the lesser of 2% of a provider’s 2018 (or most recent complete tax year) net patient revenue or the sum of incurred losses for March and April. If the initial General Distribution payment you received between April 10 and April 17 was determined to be at least 2% of your annual patient revenue, you will not receive additional General Distribution payments.
Q: I am a healthcare provider that received a previous General Distribution payment and I submitted my revenue information through DocuSign. Why am I not receiving an additional payment? (Added 5/14/2020)
A: HHS is distributing an additional $20 billion of the General Distribution to providers to augment their initial allocation so that $50 billion is allocated proportional to providers' share of 2018 net patient revenue. Payments are determined based on the lesser of 2% of a provider’s 2018 (or most recent complete tax year) net patient revenue or the sum of incurred losses for March and April. If the initial General Distribution payment you received between April 10 and April 17 was determined to be at least 2% of your annual patient revenue, you will not receive additional General Distribution payments. There may be additional distributions in the future for which providers are eligible.
Q: How can I estimate the total payment amount I can anticipate through the General Distribution?
A: In general, providers can estimate payments from the General Distribution of approximately 2% of 2018 (or most recent complete tax year) patient revenue. To estimate your payment, use this equation: (Individual Provider Revenues/$2.5 Trillion) X $50 Billion = Expected Combined General Distribution. To estimate your payment, you may need to use “Gross Receipts or Sales” or “Program Service Revenue.” Providers should work with a tax professional for accurate submission. This includes any payments under the first $30 billion general distribution as well as under the $20 billion general distribution allocations. Providers may not receive a second distribution payment if the provider received a first distribution payment of equal to or more than 2% of patient revenue.
Q: How long does it take for HHS to make a decision on additional General Distribution funding?
A: For providers submitting tax and financial loss information, HHS intends to distribute additional funds within 10 business days of the submission. It is the Department’s intention to distribute relief funds as quickly as possible.
Q: How do I find out if my funding request was not approved?
A: If you have attested and submitted tax forms and loss estimates, you should receive a payment or other response within 10 business days.
Q: How will HHS notify me that my application has been processed?
A: You will receive an email when your application is completed. You will receive no notification from HHS as to the status of your application once submitted. You should expect additional funds, if you are to receive any, within 10 business days of completing your application.
Q: How will HHS notify me if they need additional information?
A: If additional information is requested, HHS will use the email address used to access the Provider Relief Fund Payment Portal. When can I expect to receive additional funds? Funds should be disbursed within 10 days of the submission of your application.
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/05/20/providers-must-act-june-3-2020-receive-additional-relief-fund-general-distribution-payment.html