The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has added nine pages of frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the Provider Relief Fund over the past week, available
here
. The following highlights some details as they relate to eligibility and use of these funds:
Our tax identification number (TIN) covers all our business lines, including our skilled nursing facility (SNF), assisted living facility, home health agency, and independent living services to older adults. Can I submit lost revenues for all these business lines for March and April 2020 if they are related to COVID-19, or must I only report lost revenues for those business lines that receive Medicare payments (e.g. skilled nursing facilities and/or home health)?
Providers can report lost revenues for all business lines under the same TIN that are actively caring for patients with COVID-19 or actively working to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Providers must use any payments received from the Provider Relief Fund consistent with associated
Terms and Conditions
.
What expenses or lost revenues are considered eligible for reimbursement according to the Provider Relief Fund?
The term “healthcare related expenses attributable to coronavirus” is a broad term that may cover a range of items and services purchased to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including:
- Supplies used to provide healthcare services for possible or actual COVID-19 patients;
- Equipment used to provide healthcare services for possible or actual COVID-19 patients;
- Workforce training;
- Developing and staffing emergency operation centers;
- Reporting COVID-19 test results to federal, state, or local governments;
- Building or constructing temporary structures to expand capacity for COVID-19 patient care or to provide healthcare services to non-COVID-19 patients in a separate area from where COVID-19 patients are being treated; and
- Acquiring additional resources, including facilities, equipment, supplies, healthcare practices, staffing, and technology to expand or preserve care delivery.
Providers may have incurred eligible healthcare related expenses attributable to the coronavirus prior to the date on which they received their payment. HHS expects that it would be highly unusual for providers to have incurred eligible expenses prior to January 1, 2020.
The term “lost revenues that are attributable to coronavirus” means any revenue that you, as a healthcare provider, lost due to coronavirus. These costs do not need to be specific to providing care for possible or actual coronavirus patients, but the lost revenue that the Provider Relief Fund payment covers must have been lost due to coronavirus. HHS encourages the use of funds to cover lost revenue so that providers can respond to the coronavirus public health emergency by maintaining healthcare delivery capacity, such as using Provider Relief Fund payments to cover:
- Employee or contractor payroll
- Employee health insurance
- Rent or mortgage payments
- Equipment lease payments
- Electronic health record licensing fees
