Fourth Time’s a Charm? HHS Amends CARES Act Reporting Guidance…Again

On June 11, 2021, HHS amended its reporting timeline for providers who received more than $10,000 in aggregate payments through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Health Care Enhancement Act, and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act. HHS once again updated its Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements, this time clarifying the reporting process and amending the timeline for both using and reporting on Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments received throughout the public health emergency.

This latest announcement follows HHS’ Jan. 15, 2021, guidance, in which HHS updated its Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements (Notice) to comply with the CRRSA, Congress’ December 2020 COVID-19 legislation. The CRRSA made key changes to the PRF, requiring HHS to update its prior reporting guidance to comply. As a result, HHS suspended the first reporting period indefinitely. Now nearly 6-months later, HHS has published its long-awaited Notice, establishing a reporting timeline, and extending the deadline for recipients to use funds for payments received after July 1, 2020.

Reporting Timeline: HHS established a tiered-timeline for recipients to use and report on PRF payments. The timeline establishes payment periods (Payment Received Period upon which the deadline to use and report are based.) The Payment Received Periods are defined as follows:

Notably, HHS clarified that recipients who received one or more payments exceeding $10,000 in the aggregate during a Payment Received Period are required to report in each applicable “Reporting Time Period.” Payments are “received” on the deposit date for automated clearing house (ACH) payments or the check cashed date.

Reporting Entity: HHS incorporated guidance from its FAQs regarding the entity responsible for reporting on PRF uses. In prior guidance, HHS indicated that parent entities and subsidiaries may transfer PRF payments among one another. For reporting purposes, a parent entity may report on its subsidiaries’ General Distribution payments regardless of whether the subsidiary TINs received the General Distribution payments directly or whether the General Distribution payments were transferred to them by the parent entity. Alternatively, the original recipient of a Targeted Distribution is always the reporting entity, even if the original recipient transferred the payment. HHS has noted that transferred Targeted Distributions increase the likelihood of an audit.

Greater Detail on Required Data Elements: The latest Notice provided greater detail about the reporting process, as well as the required data elements recipients will be required to report. In addition to its prior guidance, HHS expanded on the information that will be required from and about subsidiaries, acquisitions and divestitures, and tax and single audit information. The Notice also enumerates the data elements required for the Skilled Nursing Facility and Nursing Home Infection Control Distribution Payment Recipients to report on funds.

Recipients who fail to report within the respective Reporting Time Period may be subject to recoupment. Recipients of General and/or Targeted Distributions should consult with legal counsel and accounting professionals familiar with PRF funding and carefully review HHS’ latest Notice, as well as HHS’ FAQs, as they prepare for the first Reporting Time Period.