The Rural Health Clinic (RHC) COVID-19 Testing Program requires that recipients report payments received separately from the payment(s) received as part of the Provider Relief Fund. How do RHCs determine whether they received payment as part of the RHC COVID-19 Testing Program? (Added 2/24/2021)
RHCs that were issued a payment with the descriptor “HHSPAYMENT” or “COVID*RuralHealthTestingPmt*HHS.GOV” on or around May 20, 2020, June 9, 2020, December 7, 2020, and/or January 20, 2021, received these payments as part of RHC COVID-19 Testing Program. HHS provided $49,461.42 for each eligible RHC with a unique CMS Certification Number (CCN) associated with an eligible Tax Identification Number (TIN). TIN organizations must report data associated with COVID-19 testing payments on the Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Testing Report Portal available at https://www.rhccovidreporting.com/. For additional information, please visit HRSA’s website at https://www.hrsa.gov/ruralhealth/coronavirus/frequently-asked-questions#rhc. If you have additional questions please email RHCcovidreporting@narhc.org for technical assistance.
Are there any restrictions on how hospitals that receive Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments can use Provider Relief Fund General and Targeted Distribution payments? (Added 2/24/2021)
Yes. Providers may not use PRF payments to reimburse expenses or losses that have been reimbursed from other sources or that other sources are obligated to reimburse. Therefore, if a hospital has received Medicaid DSH payments for the uncompensated costs of furnishing inpatient and/or outpatient hospital services to Medicaid beneficiaries and to individuals with no source of third party coverage for the services, these expenses would be considered reimbursed by the Medicaid program and would not be eligible to be covered by money received from a General or Targeted Distribution payment. For more information on the calculation of the Medicaid hospital-specific DSH limit, see https://www.medicaid.gov/state-resourcecenter/downloads/covid-19-faqs.pdf.
Can Reporting Entities claim the time spent by staff and director-level resources on COVID-19-specific matters, such as participating in task forces or preparing their health care organization’s COVID-19 response, that they would not have otherwise spent time on in the absence of the pandemic? (Added 2/24/2021)
Time spent by staff on COVID-19-specific matters may be an allowable cost attributable to coronavirus so long as it was not reimbursed or obligated to be reimbursed by other sources. If the personnel salaries are reimbursed by any other source of funding they cannot be also reimbursed by the Provider Relief Fund. In addition, no one individual may be allocated as greater than one full-time equivalent (FTE) across all sources of funding. All costs must be tangible expenses (not opportunity costs) and must be supported by documentation. The Reporting Entity must maintain appropriate records and cost documentation including, as applicable, documentation described in 45 CFR § 75.302 – Financial management and 45 CFR § 75.361 through 75.365 – Record Retention and Access, and other information required by future program instructions to substantiate the reimbursement of costs under this award. The Recipient Last updated: 2/24/2021 17 must promptly submit copies of such records and cost documentation upon the request of the Secretary, and the Reporting Entity agrees to fully cooperate in all audits the Secretary, Inspector General, or Pandemic Response Accountability Committee conducts to ensure compliance with these Terms and Conditions.
How does cost-based reimbursement relate to my Provider Relief Fund payment? (Modified 2/24/2021)
Recipient must follow CMS instructions for completion of cost reports available at https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/Manuals/Paper-Based-ManualsItems/CMS021935. Under cost-based reimbursement, the payer agrees to reimburse the provider for the costs incurred in providing services to the insured population. In these instances, if the full cost was reimbursed based upon this method, there is nothing eligible to report as an expense attributable to coronavirus because the expense was fully reimbursed by another source. Provider Relief Fund payments cannot be used to cover costs that are reimbursed from other sources or that other sources are obligated to reimburse. Therefore, if Medicare or Medicaid makes a payment to a provider based on the provider’s cost, such payment generally is considered to fully reimburse the provider and no money from the PRF would be available. However, in cases where a ceiling is applied to the cost reimbursement and the reimbursed amount by Medicare or Medicaid does not fully cover the actual cost due to unanticipated increases in providing care attributable to coronavirus, those incremental costs that were not reimbursed are eligible for reimbursement under the Provider Relief Fund.