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

On Jan. 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (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 Provider Relief Fund. HHS’ announcement follows the newly-signed Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133), Congress’ latest COVID-19 legislation. The Consolidated Appropriations Act made certain changes to the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) requiring HHS to update its prior guidance to remain consistent. Most notably, the Act clarified PRF reporting requirements, giving providers both flexibility and time as they prepare for the first reporting period.

Flexibility: To incorporate the new statutory changes, HHS revised the definition of “Lost Revenue” to give providers greater flexibility by creating three methods for providers to calculate COVID-19-related lost revenue: 1) the difference between 2019 and 2020 actual patient care revenue; 2) the difference between 2020 budgeted and 2020 actual patient care revenue (as long as the budget was approved prior to March 27, 2020); or 3) any reasonable method of estimating revenue. Providers who choose the third option must submit a description of the methodology, a calculation of lost revenues attributable to coronavirus using that methodology, an explanation of why the methodology is reasonable, and a description establishing how lost revenue was actually a loss attributable to coronavirus.

Time: When HHS issued its first Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements in September 2020, it established a reporting portal scheduled to open on Jan. 15, 2021. Providers receiving PRF payments were required to sign up for and use the portal to submit the required information by Feb. 15, 2021. While HHS did open the reporting portal as scheduled on Jan. 15, 2021, HHS gave providers additional time by postponing the original February 2021 reporting deadline. HHS encouraged providers receiving more than $10,000 in PRF payments to sign up with the reporting portal and stated, “[w]hile there is currently no deadline for providers to establish a reporting account in the newly enabled Reporting Portal, all providers will be required to complete this first step in order to advance and fulfill their reporting requirements once HHS announces the new deadline to do so.”

The Consolidated Appropriations Act included an additional $3 billion in PRF funding, relaxed the restrictions on transferring targeted distributions to parent or other subsidiary organizations, and contained other provisions impacting PRF payment recipients. Recipients of general or targeted PRF payments should consult with legal counsel and accounting professionals familiar with PRF funding and carefully review HHS’ latest Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements, as well as HHS’ Provider Relief Fund Reporting Portal User Guide and FAQs as they prepare for the first reporting period.