HAP Radiology Billing and Coding Blog

This article was updated on October 28, 2021.

In this article we note that the filing deadline was October 26, 2021.  However, if you have submitted your tax identification number (TIN) for validation prior to that deadline, you will have until November 3, 2021 to submit a completed application. 

Physicians and other healthcare providers will be able to apply for additional grant funds from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) beginning on September 29, 2021. This distribution of funds is known as Phase 4 of the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) authorized by the CARES Act of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Additional funds will be available under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) for providers who serve rural patients. Both aspects of the current distribution will be available through a single application process.

Most radiology practices received an initial distribution of Provider Relief Funds (PRF) from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in April 2020. This was the automatic payment (by direct deposit in most cases) that came without much notice following passage of the CARES Act. Any practice that received more than $10,000 at that time, and chose to retain the funds, is now required to register and report to HHS on the use of those funds.

The long-awaited guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was just released, indicating that the PRF Reporting Portal will be available on July 1, 2021. The latest "Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements" is dated June 11, 2021, which supersedes the January 15, 2021 document, and the HHS website has also been updated with the new rules.

The latest legislation designed to assist businesses during the COVID-19 public health emergency is known as the “Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act”, signed into law on April 24, 2020.  It provides $484 billion to supplement the programs initiated under the CARES^[1] Act, including $310 billion of additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA).  There have also been revisions to the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program and expansion of the HHS “Lost Revenue/Increased Cost” Grants.

The flurry of legislative and regulatory activity over the past two months leaves us with our heads spinning!  Some funding, such as the $30 billion distribution of CARES^[1] Act Grant Funds, came to practices automatically and unexpectedly while other sources such as the Paycheck Protection Program through the Small Business Administration (SBA) have taken a lot of work with little result so far.  We reviewed as many federal programs as possible in our recent articles HHS Provider Relief Payment and Your Radiology Practice and What We Know - Federal Relief Programs That Could Assist Radiology Practices, and additional funding has been promised.  Practice managers have to be aware of the follow-up steps that are required following the receipt of money from any of these funding sources.

This article was updated on
April 16, 2020. 

Radiology practices are still trying to understand all of the implications of the payment sent automatically on April 10 by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).  Our article Update - CARES Act Relief Program Grant Fund Payments Delivered by HHS outlined the program, but many questions remain. 

When the CARES ACT was passed on March 27, details about the specific allocation of the $100 billion were not initially revealed. Today, April 10, $30 billion is currently being distributed to all Medicare providers in the first round of funding disbursement.

With the expanded eligibility of the Medicare Accelerated Payment Program, additional entities will now qualify for, essentially, an interest-free loan. Within the CARES Act, physicians and other Medicare Part B Suppliers are now eligible to receive a needed increase to cash flow during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Supplier is a physician or other practitioner that delivers health care services under Medicare, excluding a provider).