Opportunity for PRF Phase 4 Funds for Certain
Assisted Living & Behavioral Health Providers
Last week, the Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) updated its FAQ about an opportunity for Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) and behavioral health providers to submit additional documentation in order to be considered for Provider Relief Funds (PRF) Phase 4 funding (this opportunity is limited to Phase 4). The deadline for submitting additional documentation is May 9, 2022, and details about the opportunity are including in the FAQ website are below.
HRSA sent a targeted communication about this opportunity to a subset of ALF and behavioral health providers that applied for a Phase 4 General Distribution payment and previously received a notice stating they would not receive funds because their organization could not be verified as a known provider based on the TINs included in their application.
Q. Will applicants that did not have their TINs validated but were able to submit a DocuSign application have an opportunity to substantiate their eligibility for Phase 4 payments?
A. Assisted living facilities (ALFs) and behavioral health providers that do not participate in Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) have the opportunity to submit additional documentation in order to be considered for Phase 4 funding. Only ALFs and behavioral health providers that successfully submitted a DocuSign application during the Phase 4 application cycle are eligible for this opportunity. Affected ALFs and behavioral health providers received a notice directing them to submit their state/territorial license or nationally-recognized certification (if operating in a state that does not license their profession or facility) via the supplemental documentation form. ALFs and behavioral health providers have until May 9, 2022, at 11:59 pm EST to submit this documentation in order to be considered for payment from this distribution.
Please note that this opportunity is limited to Phase 4 funding; HRSA will not reevaluate eligibility for ARP Rural payments.
While some ALFs may be eligible for a payment under Phase 4, HRSA was not able to validate them based on available data sources for providers who either self-identified ALFs or because HRSA identified them as such based on their national provider identifier (NPI) and National Provider and Plan Enumeration System (NPPES) taxonomy. Entities have until Monday, May 9, 2022 at 11:59 ET to respond to this request. If you did not receive this communication, this means that you do not need to provide this documentation and are already validated.
Specifically, some providers were asked to provide contact information, the DocuSign number associated with their Phase 4 application, and a license or other documentation to substantiate their authority to provide health care services if operating or practicing in a state/territory that does not license their facility or provider type. HRSA will review the licensure documentation in order to validate these providers. Validation is a necessary step to be eligible for payment. Entities will not need to submit any financial documentation as a part of this request. For those entities that provide this additional documentation, HRSA will review and base a payment on the application previously submitted during the Phase 4 application period in fall 2021. Entities that do not respond to this information request will not be validated and will not be eligible for a Phase 4 payment. Submission of the requested licensure documentation does not guarantee payment; the applications will still need to be reviewed after the provider is validated.
To date, HRSA has paid more than two-thirds of Phase 4 applications from applicants that self-identified as ALFs. Of all self-identified ALF applications that HRSA received, seven percent are still undergoing manual review.
Additionally, AHCA/NCAL has raised that some ALFs have received notice that they will be issued a payment but have not yet received funds. As detailed in the notice(s), providers with payments in excess of $100,000 need to set up an Automated Clearing House (ACH) account in order to access funds. HRSA had recommended that applicants sign up for an ACH account at the same time they submitted a PRF application to prevent delays in issuing payment once an application has been approved. An ACH is required for payments over $100,000.
Visit this HRSA webpage for more information about the Provider Relief Fund. If you have any questions about any of the above information, you may contact [email protected].
