So…after starting the application and doing the calculations - right now our losses for march and April are under our total amt of PPP loan - so we should not apply for this right now - correct?
In fact, the AAP is lobbying for ADDITIONAL relief for practices for May and subsequent months. Assuming this comes to fruition, you don’t want to screw yourself out of future relief because you monkeyed with your application. Follow the rules as written even if March and April weren’t your worst months.
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So is it ok to just not finish the application or should I call them and retract it - I have not finished the final submission but did have our TIN validated and starting filling in the docusign (but did not finish or submit).
No. I’m not sure I follow your logic.
You didn’t have to prove a particular loss to get a PPP loan, just that you were impacted by COVID with an uncertain future. You only had to substantiate your typical payroll amounts. Your PPP loan money was intended to pay your payroll fully (although for a short time) even though you already probably had the money to fund 50% or 70% of payroll without assistance.
If you don’t want to finish the application, don’t send it, and it won’t go through. You may have been one of the rare practices who’s been barely touched by COVID with very little losses. In that case, that’s great! But if you’ve had sustained and ongoing losses for expenses that PPP can’t help with, this may be the only HHS financial assistance you get.
Suzanne, what I am saying is that our loan amount for the PPP is above our estimated lost revenue from covid for march and April. So I feel fine about our PPP loan. I am not sure if we should apply for this round of HHS payout given that our PPP loan is covering our losses so far… might not for future but they are only asking about march/April… Thank you for your help! We were definitely affected by covid but not more so than the PPP loan is covering (so far)
OK, thank you for clarifying. It’s important to call out that your decision to apply or not is based on your personal assessment of your practice’s need, as opposed to a rule about applying for the Provider Relief Fund when you already have a PPP Loan (i.e. there is no such rule saying you can’t do both.)
The important thing you said is “so far.” If you are already bouncing back stronger than before, you may indeed not need this money, and it’s generous of you to leave it for other folks who might need it more!
On the other hand, this money can be used to pay losses for May 2020 and beyond. From the HHS FAQ, emphasis mine:
Providers may have incurred eligible health care related expenses attributable to coronavirus prior to the date on which they received their payment. Providers can use their Provider Relief Fund payment for such expenses incurred on any date, so long as those expenses were attributable to coronavirus and were used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
And a final quote from the same source:
In order to accept a payment, must the provider have already incurred eligible expenses and losses higher than the Provider Relief Fund payment received? (Added 6/8/2020)
No. Providers do not need to be able to prove, at the time they accept a Provider Relief Fund payment, that prior and/or future lost revenues and increased expenses attributable to COVID-19 (excluding those covered by other sources of reimbursement) meet or exceed their Provider Relief Fund payment. Instead, HHS expects that providers will only use Provider Relief Fund payments for permissible purposes and if, at the conclusion of the pandemic, providers have leftover Provider Relief Fund money that they cannot expend on permissible expenses or losses, then they will return this money to HHS.
So it’s possible to apply in good faith, hold the money for a bit, then return it (in all or in part) if you truly don’t need it. The window to apply is brief; the option to payback unused $ is open-ended (since none of us know when “the conclusion of the pandemic” is coming!)
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I was under the impression that it was 2% of Straight Medicaid receipts only (like it was 2% of Straight Medicare for the former program). Do you see something in writing that says 2% of all receipts or including commercial Medicaid, like Horizon Medicaid?
From the Fed’s FAQ:
What was the methodology/formula used to calculate provider payment? (Added 6/9/2020)
The Medicaid Targeted Distribution methodology will be based upon 2% of (gross revenues * percent of gross revenues from patient care) for CY 2017, or 2018 or 2019, as selected by the applicant and with accompanying submitted tax documentation. Payments will be made to applicant providers who are on the filing TIN curated list submitted by states to HHS or whose applications underwent additional validation by HHS.
But, it says “The payment to each provider will be at least 2% of reported gross revenue from patient care (from all payors). The final amount each provider receives will be determined after the data is submitted, including information about the number of Medicaid patients they serve.” What if you have $500,000 in revenue, but only 100 patients from Medicaid?
You’ll get at least 2% of your gross revenue. If there is money left over, it’s up to the Feds to decide how to distribute it. We suspect that it might go to those who take more Medicaid than others. However, it might get evenly distributed amongst all applicants, by zip code of areas hardest hit by COVID, or some other methodology.
Or there may be no money left over. A lot of it depends on how many practices show up to the feeding trough, as it were.
“Enter the primary provider FTE of the applicant as of 5/31/2020 as reported in the FTE Worksheet uploaded in Field 31. Include only W-2 employees (i.e. not independent contractors).”
Once again (as w PPP), as a K1, it seems myself and my partner would not be included here?
That is correct. In fact, if you have no W-2 employed providers in your clinic, you will be uploading a blank FTE worksheet.
Regarding TIN PROCESSING for a long time: I want to report on an error I made initially- which is what held up verifying our TIN and ultimately got it rejected. When they asked for “provider name”, I put in MY name. That was not what they wanted, they wanted the name of the company. The field to me, was not clear. I do not think of my business name as a “provider name”. I got an email saying TIN not verifiable, and to call an 877 number. The first person I spoke with told me to go back in and change the name to the company name. HOWEVER, after much searching there is NO way to change the name. I called back and spoke with another person (both were lovely BTW and really helpful) who said that once the TIN is submitted no changes could be made. The second person told me that she had been getting calls like mine ALL day, and they were reaching out to HHS for guidance as to how to resolve this. As of last night they were not allowed to change anything, and you cannot resubmit another application with the same TIN. She took my phone number and said I should expect a call in 24-48 hours with instructions on how to proceed. 48 hours will be right around the time of the forum tomorrow night. If I get an answer before than I’ll try to put in another post. If anyone else had this problem and gets an answer I’d love to hear it! I feel really foolish… but hope knowing this will help someone else from making the same error.
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I am sorry you had this problem, but I so appreciate you sharing. Hopefully your experience will pave the way for many others.
Same exact issue here! I’ve reached out to HHS, but haven’t received a response yet. Thank you for posting this as I’m happy to here I wasn’t the only one confused with the “provider name” field on the application.
Please share any information you can with me once you get a response and I will do the same!
One question and one rant.
Rant first- how does United Healthcare- the worst payer on the planet- get a contract with the federal government to expedite payments to physicians? Talk about living in an upside down world!
Question- When logging in with Optum ID, it is asking us to agree to the privacy policy for COVID-19 Dental- is this correct? Are we in the right place?
@SKB oh my goodness, thank you for posting the application guidance yesterday- I just started reading and my question is answered on p. 10.
My head still wants to explode that we need a 50+ page document showing us how to apply 
I received a phone call back from HHS. They acknowledged our issue with the provider name field and called United Health Group on my behalf. When I logged in this morning, I was able to submit my application again by going to Add Another Organization TIN in the space. It’s now back in the validating/processing stage. Hope this helps.
Thank You for providing the link it was very helpful I was able to use the link login and do the application
I had the same problem, we just got this email.
Dear Valued Provider:
Thank you for submitting your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) information to the Enhanced Provider Relief Fund Payment Portal for consideration to receive payment from the Provider Relief Fund. Initial review shows that your Provider Organization Name does not match the information on your IRS W-9.
What action should I take?
Please return to the Enhanced Provider Relief Fund Payment Portal, and resubmit your TIN validation application. To ensure your application processes as quickly as possible, make sure your Provider Organization Name is displayed exactly as it appears in the first field on the W-9 for this TIN. The only way to fix data that is not submitted correctly is to begin a new application, so review your information carefully before submitting.
Where can I find more information?
Please visit hhs.gov/providerrelief for Terms and Conditions and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). For additional information, please call the provider support line at (866) 569-3522; for TTY dial 711. Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday. Service staff members are available to provide real-time technical assistance, as well as service and payment support.
Thank you for all you are doing to support and protect the American people during this difficult time.
Thomas J. Engels
Administrator
Health Resources and Services Administration
United States Department of Health and Human Services