This is an update on an earlier post. The 30 day deadline for attestation for HHS Cares Act Grant money is rapidly approaching. Attestation must be done via the online portal within 30 days of receiving the money – for many practices, that will be THIS SUNDAY, May 10th. Failure to attest by your deadline may mean the money will eventually need to be repaid.
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If you had Medicare patients last year, you should have received a payment direct from HHS on or about April 10th, amounting to ~ 6.2% of the total Medicare payments you received in 2019. Under most circumstances, this is a GRANT, meaning there is no need to pay it back. This has been pushed into your account as part of the CARES Act financial stimulus, an initial $30 Billion. However, in order to keep this money with limited obligation (or to reject it), you must make an on-line attestation within 30 days of having received it.
The Attestation Portal is now open. Click here to be taken to the official site to attest: Attestation Portal
For additional information on the Provider Relief Fund portion of the CARES Act, here is a link to that page on the HHS site Provider Relief Fund
HHS has a pdf describing all the requirements for accepting these funds. Terms and Conditions – PDF. Billing entities must provide their Taxpayer Identification Number and a few other details. There are only a few disallowed uses for the money, so most recipients will not be affected. Initially, it looked like the funds could only be used regarding Covid19 patients. HHS has clarified some of the language; ALL patients are now considered potential Covid19 patients.
How may I help?
There is a lot of information and advice out there, much of it conflicting – particularly as it pertains to relaxation of telehealth rules and loan programs. And it changes almost daily. I have been working to bring up to date, accurate and actionable information to doctors in private practice to help them weather the Covid19 storm and its impact on their practices and financial health. If you would like a discussion of how you can weather the storm and how you can prepare for reopening, please reach out.
