HHS Announces Enhanced Provider Relief Portal and Additional Funding for Safety Net Hospitals, Medicaid and CHIP Providers

Posted: June 10 at 9:30 AM

On June 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it expects to distribute about $15 billion through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to eligible providers who participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs and have not received a payment from the Provider Relief Fund General Distribution. Previous articles about the Provider Relief Fund General Distribution can be found here and here.

In connection with such distributions, HHS announced that it is launching an enhanced Provider Relief Fund Payment Portal June 10, 2020. This will allow eligible Medicaid and CHIP providers to report their annual patient revenue, which will be used as a factor for HHS to determine their Provider Relief Fund payment. According to the announcement, the payment to each provider will be at least 2% of reported gross revenue from patient care. HHS said it will determine the final amount that each provider receives after data is submitted, including information about the number of Medicaid patients providers serve.

Please click here for more information from HHS about eligibility and the application process.

In addition, HRSA will distribute about $10 billion from the Provider Relief Fund to the nation’s safety-net hospitals. On June 8, 2020, HHS contacted all hospitals, asking them to update information on their COVID-19 positive-inpatient admissions for the period Jan. 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.

If you have questions or would like to discuss further, please contact Jarod Moss.