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In April of this year, many providers received HHS Provider Relief Fund payments from CMS (via United Healthcare). These funds were sent or deposited in their accounts automatically, without any request or application required. This automatic payment was considered Round 1 of the $50B General Distribution, and came from an initial $30B pool of funds. Those providers who received those initial automatic payments were then eligible to apply for additional funding from the remaining $20B of the $50B...

The deadline to apply for the HHS Provider Relief Fund for Medicaid/CHIP providers who did not receive any relief payments during the Medicare-based General Distribution has been extended until August 28th. Providers who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19, meet all of the other eligibility requirements, and can agree to the terms and conditions associated with the program are encouraged to apply for this relief fund.

HHS created this $15B Medicaid/CHIP relief program from the Provider...

For the latest vlog from Ronda Buhrmester, click here or watch below:

For more information, click here to visit the website or click here for the article from CGS. 

Part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act included reimbursement rate changes for certain zip codes and HCPCS codes.

Let’s start with the rural and contiguous areas where the 50/50 blended rate that was initially set to expire December 31, 2020 and is now being extended beyond 2020 and for the duration of the public health emergency (PHE). This applies to beneficiaries that have a rural zip code according to Medicare FFS and the HCPCS code is part of...

REMINDER: The deadline to apply for the HHS Provider Relief Fund for Medicaid/CHIP providers who did not receive any relief payments during the Medicare-based General Distribution is Monday, July 20th. Providers who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19, meet all of the other eligibility requirements, and can agree to the Terms and Conditions associated with the program are encouraged to apply for this relief fund.

HHS created this $15B relief program from the Provider Relief Fund,...

The $20B that was set aside for advance forgivable grants of up to $10,000 for any business that applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) has been exhausted. That means, for now, businesses can still apply for a traditional EIDL, but they won’t be able to apply for the advance of up to $10,000 ($1,000 per employee) any longer, unless Congress adds more money to that SBA (Small Business Administration) program. The SBA announced that just over six million individual businesses...

August 3rd seems to be an important date for CMS.  Here is a recent update from the “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Provider Burden Relief Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)” that are attached as well.  The DME MACs, SMRC, and RAC will be able to resume audit activity.  Prior Authorizations will resume as business as usual for PMDs and Group 2 Support Surfaces.  Also the lower limb prosthetics (6 codes) will begin prior authorization activity with a phased approach...

The deadline for small businesses to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program loan has been extended through August 8th. The program has already provided small businesses around the country with over $500B in forgivable loans. The original deadline to apply for a loan was June 30, but as of that date, there were still over $130B left over in available funding for the popular program. On Saturday, July 4th, President Trump signed a bill that would extend the application deadline to August 8th. Any...

On Monday, June 29, HHS Spokesperson Michael Caputo tweeted “…@HHSGov expects to renew the Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19 before it expires. We have already renewed this PHE once…” The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) was initially declared on January 31, 2020 (with acknowledgement that it has existed since January 27th). Any PHE declaration can only last for 90 days at a time, but can be extended or renewed. The COVID-19 was already renewed once in...