Partner Christopher Donovan was quoted in the Home Health Care News article, “Fearing CMS ‘Day of Reckoning,’ Home Health Providers Shy Away from Coronavirus Relief Funds,” about the the strings attached to the Provider Relief Fund. The grant funding came with conditions, and confusion around those conditions has some home health operators wondering whether they should accept or reject the money. The deadline for that decision is drawing near with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services telling providers that they have until May 24, 2020 to meet the required attestation deadline condition.
While the money comes in the form of a grant, providers could be responsible for repaying it if they don’t meet certain terms and conditions. Some of the stipulations include rules that providers must be participating in the Medicare program and that “payment will only be used to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus.”But there’s a lot of confusion around exactly what some of those terms and conditions mean, Donovan said.
While HHS is expected to provide guidance about the type of documentation recipients must submit, the guidance needs to come soon. “If you’re a provider and you haven’t seen the form that says ‘this is how I’m going to have to report it in July,’ how can you, in the middle of May, say, ‘I’ll take that money right now?’” Donovan said.
