HHS Begins Payout of Remaining $20 Billion, But It Could Be Difficult

HHS has now begun dispensing the remaining $20 billion of the $50 billion set aside for Medicare providers as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economy Security (CARES) Act Provider Relief Fund, but getting a share of that $20 billion could be tricky.
While the $20 billion is being distributed to Medicare facilities and providers, including hospitals, physician practices, group practices, ambulatory surgery centers and home health agencies, it will be allocated so that “the whole $50 billion general distribution is allocated proportional to providers’ share of 2018 net patient revenue,” according to the HHS website. That means practices with heavier Medicaid and other federal healthcare program revenues could be prioritized (see takeaways below).

Furthermore, if your practice received payments as part of the distribution of the first $30 billion in funds, HHS says you will need to access the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund Payment Attestation Portal and sign an attestation confirming you received that money and agree to the terms and conditions before you can apply for money from this more recent $20 billion round of funding.

Sean’s Takeaways

If you received money in the first round based on 2019 Medicare revenue, odds are you will not receive anything in this second round. That’s because this money is being targeted toward practices with a higher dependence on non-Medicare federal healthcare programs (e.g., Medicaid, TRICARE). The government is also prioritizing money in this round for RHCs/FQHCs, CAHs, and those practices that did not receive anything in the first round. For those who are trying to submit cost reports for a share of this money (the $20 billion), if you received money in the first round you must attest for it first.

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