Home Health & Hospice Week

Plus: Don’t let accelerated payment interest sneak up on you.

Home care providers have a few more weeks to apply for Provider Relief Funding, thanks to another deadline delay.

Then: The Department of Health and Human Services announced that providers that missed out on CARES Act PRF funding in its first go-round could reapply — including providers that initially gave back the PRF money automatically deposited into their accounts (see Eli’s HCW, Vol. XXIX, No. 31). HHS gave an Aug. 28 deadline for applications.

Now: “The deadline to apply for Phase 2 General Distri­bution Funding has been extended to September 13, 2020,” HHS says on the PRF website.

“These payments do not need to be repaid to the U.S. government, assuming providers comply with the terms and conditions,” HHS explains on the site.

Meanwhile, providers that have already obtained their PRF funds and are waiting on instructions for how to report their use for loan forgiveness purposes are still waiting. HHS originally said a form and instructions would be out Aug. 17 for Oct. 1 reporting. But the agency has delayed that.

HHS merely says, “Providers should continue to check this website for the latest updates.”

The forthcoming form and instruction’s issuance date “is a big mystery,” laments finance expert Dave Macke with Von Lehman & Co. in Fort Wright, Kentucky. “I wish that I could answer that question.”

When it comes to accelerated payments, HHH Medicare Administrative Contractor Palmetto GBA is offering some guidance on how their recoupment will work.

Reminder: MACs have begun recouping accelerated/ advanced payment amounts, since it is required on the 121st day from the payment.

Don’t expect the recoupment to be phased in, Palmetto says in a recent Frequently Asked Question set. “Once offset begins, all future payments will be offset until the AAP amount has been refunded,” the MAC says. “Recoupment of payments can also be made from ‘affiliated providers,’” — those that share the same Tax Identification Number (TIN) “and/or is noted as part of a Hospital Group (i.e., sub-units).”

How to tell: “On the Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA), a code of ‘OA’ is used for Part A Affiliated Withholdings and a code of ‘OB’ is used for Part B Affiliated Withholdings,” the HHH MAC says. “The affiliated withholding amount is reported in the total withhold of the payment recap section on the Standard Paper Remittance (SPR).”

Palmetto also clarifies that two separate AAPs would have two different due dates for the same provider. “There will be two offset start dates for the two payments issued, each equal to 120 days from the date of each individual payment,” according to the MAC.

And Palmetto doesn’t recommend that providers hold their new claims to avoid offsetting confusion. “Interest will be accruing on any overpayment balance 30 days following the issuance of the overpayment demand letter,” the MAC warns.

Note: The Palmetto FAQs are at www.palmettogba.com/palmetto/providers.nsf/ls/JM Home Health and Hospice~BR2N620650.