HHS again urged to reinstate June reporting requirements for COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund

The Department of Health and Human Services should fully reinstate its June COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund reporting requirements, AHA said again today in a letter to the agency. On Oct. 22, the department partially restored the requirements, but not the ability of hospitals to calculate lost revenue on a monthly basis or use a budgeted-to-actual comparison. AHA also expressed concern that the reporting requirements do not adequately account for fluctuations in Medicaid revenue or COVID-19-related capital purchases with useful lives of more than 12 months, and continued to urge the agency to allow fund distributions to follow COVID-19 patients within a hospital system.  
 
“Absent changes to the policies above, many hospitals, including many rural hospitals and those serving high numbers of low-income, elderly and severely ill patients, particularly in vulnerable communities, remain in the position of unfairly having to return substantial PRF funds to HHS,” AHA said.