Update on Provider Relief Fund in the CARES Act

April 16, 2020

NYS Council members.Last Friday the federal government began distributing $30B (of the total $100B appropriated in the CARES Act through the Provider Relief Fund) for hospitals and other Medicare healthcare settings/providers.a dir  Some NYS Council members received funds from this 1st round via direct deposit based on their 2019 Medicare billing.  Yesterday CMS Administrator Seema Verma stated publicly that CMS is ready to begin distributing additional targeted funds (from the remaining $70B), with a particular focus on providers in areas particularly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, rural providers, providers of services with lower shares of Medicare reimbursement or who predominantly serve the Medicaid population, and providers requesting reimbursement for the treatment of uninsured Americans.  When we spoke to the National Council about these payments last week and then again earlier today we were informed the National Council has continuously weighed in with HHS and CMS to ensure mental health and substance use disorder agencies will be included in these targeted disbursements but it wasn’t clear yet whether community-based behavioral health providers would be included in this next round of funding.

The Provider Relief Fund was embedded in the CARES Act.  Funding comes in the form of grants, and is separate from the accelerated Medicare payments that providers will have to pay back.  Again, this week’s funding round looks at “providers across the board, whether they serve Medicare patients, Medicaid or private insurers, to make sure that all providers across the country are addressed,”  (Source:  CMS Director Seema Verma)   Given that today is Thursday and VCMS has said they are beginning to disburse the next round of funding this week we hope to hear shortly whether some community-based MH and SUD organizations will receive a portion of these funds.  If your agency has received a portion of this funding please let us know!

For those NYS Council members who received a payment this week please note the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund Payment Attestation Portal is now open.  Providers who have been allocated a payment from the initial $30 billion general distribution must sign an attestation confirming receipt of the funds and agree to the terms and conditions within 30 days of payment.

Also this week the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) provided clarification regarding the Terms and Conditions when retaining the Relief Fund payments under the CARES Act.  HHS highlights two key guidelines focused on the concern that the provider must be currently treating actual or possible COVID-19 patients (below):

1)  HHS now states, “care does not have to be specific to treating COVID-19. HHS broadly views every patient as a possible case of COVID-19.” In other words, if you treated any patient, you treated a possible case of COVID-19, and you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that you treated actual or possible COVID-19 patients

2)  HHS removed the requirement that you must be “currently” be treating possible COVID-19 patients, such that if you “ceased operation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, you are still eligible to receive funds.”

Stand by for more. 

Lauri