Federal Health and Human Services Announce New COVID-19 Resources for Medicaid Providers

On Wednesday, June 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the Health Resources and Services Administration will be distributing approximately $15 billion from the Provider Relief Fund to eligible Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) providers.

Providers may be eligible if they meet the following requirements:

• Billed Medicaid Fee-for-Service or a Medicaid managed care plan between January 2018 and June 2020; and

• Did NOT bill Medicare during that same period.

Previously, HHS had made a General Distribution from the Provider Relief Fund based on Medicare payments. This provided resources to approximately 62% of state Medicaid and CHIP program-enrolled providers. The disbursement announced last week is intended to support the remaining 38%. HHS stated that providers can expect total payments from the Medicaid fund to equal at least 2% of gross revenue from patient care.

Unlike most previous disbursements from the Provider Relief Fund, providers will need to apply for these dollars. HHS has created a provider portal which can be found here. Providers have until July 20, 2020 to submit their data to HHS, but should act quickly to ensure access to these federal dollars.

Additional information about HHS’s announcement and the process for applying for these funds can be found here.

We Can Help

If you have questions regarding the Provider Relief Fund, please contact Matthew Bergeron or Patrick Cole.