HOW TO APPLY FOR STAGE 3 OF THE PROVIDER RELIEF FUND

The Provider Relief Fund supports healthcare providers in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qualified providers of health care may receive Provider Relief Fund payments for healthcare-related expenses or lost revenue due to COVID-19.

These distributions do not need to be repaid to the US government, assuming providers comply with the terms and conditions. However, HHS will require recipients to submit future reports relating to the recipient’s use of Provider Relief Fund money.

Providers may be eligible regardless of whether they were eligible for, applied for, received, accepted, or rejected payment from prior PRF distributions.

1. Determine Eligibility 

To be eligible to apply, the applicant must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Billed Medicaid / CHIP programs or Medicaid managed care plans for health-related services between Jan.1, 2018-Mar.31, 2020; or
• Billed Medicare fee-for-service during the period of Jan.1, 2019-Mar. 31, 2020; or

Additionally, to be eligible to apply, the applicant must meet all of the following requirements:

• Filed a federal income tax return for fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2019 if in operation before Jan. 1, 2020; or be exempt from filing a return; and
• Provided patient care after Jan. 31, 2020 (Note: patient care includes health care, services, and support, as provided in a medical setting, at home, or in the community); and
• Did not permanently cease providing patient care directly or indirectly; and
•  For individuals providing care before Jan. 1, 2020, have gross receipts or sales from patient care reported on Form 1040 (or other tax form)

2. Validate Tax ID number

Use the HHS portal and enter your TIN

• Recognized TINs will be automatically validated and the provider may re-enter portal to complete application.
• Unrecognized TINs will go through a three-step validation process. HSS will take up to four weeks for TIN validation.

3. Apply for funding

All applicants must submit their TIN and financial information to the Provider Relief Fund Application and Attestation Portal. Applicants who submit by Friday, November 6, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET will be considered for funding.

Providers are encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible to expedite the calculation and distribution of payments. Providers should apply if they have lost revenues and/or increased expenses attributable to COVID-19 that have not been reimbursed by other sources. (For reference: Application Instructions – PDF)

Required documentation:

• Most recent federal income tax return for 2017, 2018, or 2019, unless exempt
• Revenue worksheet (if required by Field 15)
• Operating revenues and expenses from patient care

Note: Providers will need to submit a new application, even if they previously submitted revenue details for a prior PRF distribution; the application has been updated to include some additional data entries in order to calculate payment based on financial impact of COVID-19.

4. Apply for funding

• Phase 3 General Distribution supports providers who have been most significantly impacted by COVID-19, as measured by changes in their revenues and expenses from patient care
• If a provider did not previously receive approximately 2% of annual revenues from patient care, they will receive this amount consistent with prior general distributions, plus their Phase 3 allocation
• Payments received in prior PRF distributions will be considered when calculating a provider’s Phase 3 payment
• All PRF distributions will be paid to the Filing or Organizational TIN, and not directly to subsidiary TINs
• Providers receiving >$100,000 must sign up for Optum Pay in order to support program integrity

For more detailed information on receiving payment, please see Provider Relief Fund FAQs.

5. Attest to Payment

Recipients who receive Provider Relief Fund payments must accept or reject funds within 90 days* through the Provider Relief Fund Application and Attestation Portal .

<em”>*Not actively attesting within 90 days will be viewed as acceptance.

• To accept payment, the recipient must agree to the terms and conditions of the payment
• To reject payment, the recipient must return funds to HHS within 15 calendar days of the attestation

Requirements from the Provider Relief Fund terms and conditions include (not exhaustive):

• To be eligible, provider must have provided diagnosis, testing, or care for actual or possible COVID-19 patients on or after Jan.31, 2020 (Note: HHS broadly views every patient as a possible case of COVID-19 for purposes of eligibility)
• Payment will be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, and reimburse healthcare-related expenses or lost revenues attributable to coronavirus
• Payment will not be used for expenses or losses that have been or will be reimbursed from other sources
• Recipient consents to public disclosure of payment

For information about how to accept the funds, see the Attestation FAQs, the Terms and Conditions FAQs, and review the Terms and Conditions.

For information about how to reject the funds, read the Rejecting Payments FAQs.

6. Report on Use of Funds

All recipients of Provider Relief Fund payments are required to comply with the reporting requirements described in the Terms and Conditions and specified in future directions issued by the HHS Secretary.

HHS will require recipients to submit future reports relating to the recipient’s use of Provider Relief Fund money.

Provider Relief Fund payments may be used to cover lost revenue attributable to COVID-19 or health-related expenses purchased to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including but not limited to:

• Supplies
• Equipment
• Workforce training
• Reporting COVID-19 test results to federal, state, or local governments
• Building or constructing temporary structures for COVID-19 patient care or non-COVID-19 patients in a separate area
• Acquiring additional resources, including facilities, supplies, or staffing to expand or preserve care delivery
• Developing and staffing emergency operation centers

Recipients of >$10,000 will be required to submit reports about the use of their Provider Relief Fund distribution.

• General and Targeted Distribution Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirement – PDF
• Summary of reporting guidelines – PDF

For additional information, visit the Reporting Requirements and Auditing page and read the Auditing and Reporting Requirements FAQs.