HHS announces $30B in grants to medicare providers, including ASCs

Today, April 10, 2020, the payments will begin to arrive via direct deposit to eligible providers. An email with the subject line “CARES Act Provider Relief Fund: Action Required” was sent this morning on behalf of HHS to eligible providers. These are grants – not loans and will not need to be repaid. Click here for HHS program overview.

Who is eligible?

All facilities and providers that received Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement in 2019 are eligible for the initial rapid distribution. All relief funds are made to the billing organization according to its Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

How are disbursements calculated?

Providers will receive a portion of the initial $30 billion based on their share of the total Medicare FFS reimbursement in 2019.

A provider can estimate their payment by dividing their 2019 Medicare FFS (not including Medicare Advantage) payments by $484,000,000,000 and multiplying that ratio by $30,000,000,000. The amount is approximately 6.2 percent of your FFS payments in 2019.

What do providers need to do to receive payments?

Providers will be paid via ACH on file with the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services or United Health Group (UHG), who CMS is working with to distribute funds. The payment description will be HHPayment. Providers who usually get paper check for reimbursement from CMS will receive paper check in the mail within the next few weeks.

Within 30 days or receiving payment, providers must sign an attestation confirming receipt of funds and agreeing to Terms and Conditions. This program is separate from the CMS accelerated and advance payments that are loans.

See HHS program overview for additional details.

Should you have any questions, please contact our Washington Counsel, Michael Romansky, JD, at mromansky@OOSS.org or our Executive Director, Diane Blanck at dblanck@OOSS.org.