Provider Relief Fund Requirements – Hospital Should Ask Congressional Members to Sign Dear Colleague Letter

We encourage hospitals to contact their representatives, asking them to sign on to the “Dear Colleague” letter circulated by Rep. David McKinley of West Virginia.  More information and a link to the letter is in the AHA Action Alert. WSHA will also be asking our delegation to support. As covered in a previous Fiscal Watch, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released updated instructions FAQ regarding reporting of COVID-19 Provider Relief Funds (PRF) related expenditures and revenue losses. The instructions include significant changes from the previous HHS guidance provided June 19, in particular a provision that changes the calculation for lost revenues and stipulates that hospitals could apply PRF payments toward lost revenue only up to the amount of their 2019 net patient operating income. This could significantly affect hospital’s ability to retain needed PRF payment.  We are concerned the change will result in many hospitals paying back significant amounts. (Andrew Busz, AndrewB@wsha.org.)