HHS Announces Inclusion Of All Medicare Providers In Stimulus Payments

November 19, 2020
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HHS announced Friday that they will be including all Medicare providers in their first round of stimulus payments, not just hospitals.

We estimate that this will provide about 3 weeks of historical billing as a pure grant, with no requirement for repayment. Practices with NPs, PAs, CNSs may receive more due to higher billing. This is in addition to accelerated Medicare payments (which practices should apply for through their MAC) and the Payroll Protection Program (which practices should apply for through their bank). Below are some FAQs about this announcement:

When will the money come?

Many practices have already received a deposit. This money is a grant. There is no payback requirement and the funds can be used to meet most operational expenses, including payroll and other fixed costs.

How will you recognize the payment?

The payment comes from Optum Bank with “HHSPAYMENT” as the payment description. Payments to practices that are part of larger medical groups will be sent to the group’s central billing office. All relief payments are made to provider billing organizations based on their Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs).

What action do you need to take?

Within 30 days of receiving the payment, you must sign an attestation confirming receipt of the funds and agreeing to the terms and conditions of payment. Terms and conditions can be found on hhs.gov/providerrelief. The CARES Provider Relief Payment Portal for signing the attestation will be open the week of April 13, 2020, and will be linked from hhs.gov/providerrelief.  If you do not agree with the Terms and Conditions, you need to make arrangements to return the funds because HHS will deem you to have agreed to the Terms and Conditions if you do not respond and keep the funds.

The attestation is:

  • The Recipient (the healthcare provider, whether an individual or an entity, receiving the Payment) certifies that it billed Medicare in 2019; currently provides diagnoses, testing, or care for individuals with possible or actual cases of COVID-19; is not currently terminated from participation in Medicare; is not currently excluded from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and other Federal health care programs; and does not currently have Medicare billing privileges revoked.
  • The Recipient certifies that the Payment will only be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, and shall reimburse the Recipient only for healthcare-related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to coronavirus.
  • The Recipient certifies that it will not use the Payment to reimburse expenses or losses that have been reimbursed from other sources or that other sources are obligated to reimburse.
  • Practices that receive more than $150,000 may have additional reporting requirements.

Disclaimer: Aledade endeavors to provide the most recent, actionable information pertaining to the quickly evolving state of emergency around COVID-19. Aledade regularly reviews a variety of publicly available health sources and updates its materials accordingly. Because data, regulations, and official pronouncements around COVID-19 change so frequently, however, some information contained herein may become outdated before we get the chance to update it. For the very latest on COVID-19, please continue to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and your state or local public health departments.