The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced an additional $2 billion in Phase 4 Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments will be distributed to more than 7,600 U.S. providers. The distribution follows nearly $9 billion released by HHS in December 2021 and brings the total funding to providers through the PRF and American Rescue Plan to more than $18 billion over the past three months.
In its January 25 release, the HHS characterized its Phase 4 payments as “reimbursing a higher percentage of losses for smaller providers and incorporating ‘bonus’ payments for providers who serve Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicare beneficiaries,” adding that “approximately 82 percent of all Phase 4 applications have now been processed.” Provider Relief Fund payments are designed to help healthcare providers whose operations have been negatively impacted by the variants of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are intended to help providers “to remain in operation and to continue supporting patient care by covering a variety of costs including personnel, recruitment and retention initiatives, medical supplies, information technology, and many other functions,” noted the HHS release.
“Provider Relief Fund payments have served as a lifeline for our nation’s heroic health care providers throughout the pandemic, helping them to continue to recruit and retain staff and deliver care to their communities,” noted HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “This funding is just the latest example of the Biden-Harris administration’s dedication to ensuring that providers continue to have the resources they need to meet the evolving challenges presented by COVID-19 and keep providing critical services to the American people.”
For more information on the Phase 4 funding or 0ther provider relief funding, call HBK Healthcare Solutions at (330) 758-8613 or contact us by email at jzarlenga@hbkcpa.com
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