Eli's Hospice Insider

The next round of Provider Relief Fund reporting has arrived. “Healthcare providers who received Provider Relief Funds from July 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020, will need to report how they used those funds,” says accounting firm Casey Peterson in online guidance. “The PRF reporting portal that opened for reporting period 2 on Jan. 1, 2022, will stay open until March 31, 2022.”

Who’s affected: “Providers who received one or more General and/or Targeted PRF payments exceeding $10,000, in the aggregate, from July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 must report on their use of funds in Reporting Period 2,” the federal Health Resources and Services Administration reminds on its website.

A handy new feature is that “the Portal will auto-populate previously entered data in certain fields,” HRSA notes in a “What’s New” fact sheet for period 2. “Providers can edit and update any auto-populated fields.”

Tip: “Returning Reporting Entities may change the methodology for calculating lost revenues, but must then use the new methodology to calculate lost revenues for the entire RP2 Period of Availability,” HRSA advises in the fact sheet.

Looking ahead: Reporting Period 3 opens on July 1, and Reporting Period 4 opens on Jan.1, 2023, HRSA notes on its PRF reporting and auditing website.

Get more details and log in to the portal at https://prfreporting.hrsa.gov/s/.

Meanwhile, more PRF funding may be in the offing. HRSA has continued its significant PRF assistance with its Phase 4 general distribution that started in December 2021, helping healthcare providers combat COVID-19.

Details: HRSA dispensed $9 billion in PRF payments as part of the Phase 4 distribution in December, and another $2 billion went out this January, according to a Jan. 25 Health and Human Services update.

This Phase 4 tranche was “based on changes in operating revenues and expenses from July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021,” HRSA guidance indicates. “Phase 4 payments also include new elements specifically focused on equity, including reimbursing smaller providers for their changes in operating revenues and expenses at a higher rate compared to larger providers, and bonus payments based on the amount of services providers furnish to Medicaid/ Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicare beneficiaries.”

Though more than 76,000 providers and suppliers have already received Phase 4 payments, there may be more distributions ahead as the agency has only processed 82 percent of the applications.

“The Provider Relief Fund remains an important tool in helping to sustain the critical health care services communities need and support the health care workforce that is delivering on the frontlines every day,” acknowledges HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson in a release on the most recent Phase 4 distributions.

Find the list of PRF payment recipients at https://data.cdc.gov/Administrative/HHS-Provider-Relief-Fund/kh8y-3es6.