CARES Act Provider Relief Fund question

As part of the CARES Act there is $100 B in relief funds to Medicare providers. Any of that money channeled towards Medicaid/CHIP providers?

This quote was from last Tuesday I believe. It looks as though Medicare first then Medicaid. “Those organizations (Pediatrics) will be addressed in the second tranche of funding. And we’ll have priority for the organizations and these types of health care providers” Seema Verma at the White House.

Click this link to the article on AAP site

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Anyone find when this “second tranche” will be going out to pediatrician offices/non-medicare providers? I continue to see this same response in several forums, but no one has yet to know when this will be.

Has anyone heard or seen any update to this? Our offices continue to stay open and HHS keeps handing out money to specialists and providers who have closed their doors for the last 8-9 weeks

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Below is an email from the AAP:

Hopefully this is our answer to the Medicaid/CHIP payments we’ve waited so long for!

New Financial Relief Available for Pediatricians: Message from the AAP President

Dear Colleagues:

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgeons will finally be able to access financial relief from the Provider Relief Fund. In response to AAP’s advocacy, HHS announced today that they are making approximately $15 billion available to Medicaid and CHIP providers who have been left out of previous waves of financial relief. This is welcome news that I hope will bring real, needed relief to many of you.

Since the earliest days of this pandemic, the AAP has been relentlessly pushing for pediatricians to receive timely federal financial relief. We sent multiple letters to government leaders, held regular calls with high-level HHS and White House officials, and we asked you to contact your members of Congress. Today, we were heard.

Pediatricians have risen to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring children can get needed care even when practices have faced major financial distress. This process took far longer than we had hoped for and is unlikely to reach as many pediatricians with as much financial relief as we had hoped for.

Our work continues. We need to learn additional details about exactly who is eligible and how the process will unfold. We are particularly concerned about AAP members who may have received negligible allocations from previous funds because of a small number of Medicare-eligible patients.

Your AAP is continuing to advocate for adequate emergency financial relief and other important policies to support pediatricians, including raising Medicaid payments to Medicare levels and maintaining the stability of practices as the vaccine delivery system for children.

In the next few days, you’ll be receiving detailed instructions from AAP for how to apply for this new funding, who is eligible, and a step-by-step guide to walk you through common questions.

While we had hoped this funding would come sooner, and that it would reach more of you, we want to make sure every pediatrician who is eligible knows how to apply.

For now, here is what we know:

  • A new portal will open tomorrow, June 10th, for pediatricians and others to apply for this funding.
  • $15 billion total has been allocated for Medicaid and CHIP providers including pediatricians, pediatric subspecialists, obstetrician-gynecologists, dentists, home- and community-based service providers, opioid treatment and behavioral health providers, and others who have not received payments from the previous Provider Relief Fund general distribution .
  • If you received payment from a targeted allocation, such as for rural health clinics, you are eligible to apply to this Medicaid and CHIP funding stream.
  • These funds are not first come, first served. All eligible providers who apply can expect to receive funds.
  • Pediatric practices can expect to receive a payment equal to at least 2 percent of reported gross revenues from patient care. Additional payments may be allocated to account for considerations like greater loss of revenue, greater volume of Medicaid patients, or other factors.

There’s a lot we don’t yet know, including when the funding will be distributed, what the application process will entail, when and how additional funds will be allotted and distributed after the initial payment, and more.

We are tracking these details closely and we want to hear from you. Please stay in touch with us through covid-19@aap.org. As we have for the past few months, we will continue to work with HHS directly to share your experiences with the new portal, clarify as much as we can and share what we learn back with you.

As always, thank you for all you do for children.

Sincerely,

Sara “Sally” Goza, MD, FAAP

President

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Is there anything other than the portal based on medicaid claims that we can apply for?

I don’t understand the question - do you mean: are there other ways to get relief for Medicaid providers other than this portal? Or are you asking: for providers who take no Medicaid/CHIP, what relief money are they eligible for?

Hi Dr. Berman,

Sorry, I wrote my question quickly so I understand why it confused you.

The AAP letter makes it sound like there is funding for pediatricians not only based on medicaid. I’m not sure if there is another portal to log into to apply or if there is just one application at this point.

When we logged into the portal to apply today, assuming it was medicaid related, it actually seemed to be only relating to uninsured patients tested or treated for coronavirus.

Just trying to figure out what if there is anything we are missing. It’s possible it’s just not available to apply for yet.

In order to be eligible, you have to have billed Medicaid or CHIP at least once since 1/1/18. But the total amount of money you’ll receive is roughly proportional to ALL your patient care revenue, not just your Medicaid/CHIP revenue.

The Medicaid/CHIP portal had not yet opened when I checked earlier this morning. The only open portals are the “old ones,” i.e. for confirming Medicare and targeted (high COVID and rural, for example) money.

Wonderful! Thank you!!