HHS Begins Distributing Phase 3 COVID-19 Provider Relief Funding

From HHS:

Today, the Trump Administration, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is announcing it has completed review of Phase 3 applications from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) program and will distribute $24.5 billion to over 70,000 providers. Up from the $20 billion originally planned, the addition of another $4.5 billion in funding is being used to satisfy close to 90 percent of each applicant’s reported lost revenues and net change in expenses caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the first half of 2020. Payment distribution started today and will continue through January, 2021.

As HHS began analyzing applications, it realized the submissions for lost revenues and net changes in expenses would exceed the $20 billion budgeted for the Phase 3 allocation. In an effort to meet the demand, HHS worked to add another $4 billion to the allocation bringing the new total to over $24 billion. This funding will distribute to providers up to 88 percent of their reported losses. It is worth noting that over 35,000 applicants will not receive an additional payment either because they experienced no change in revenues or net expenses attributable to COVID-19, or because they have already received funds that equal or exceed reimbursement of 88 percent of reported losses.

Payments to Phase 3 applicants will begin today and continue as application quality reviews and recipient payment set up are completed before payment can be made. A state-by-state breakdown on the first batch of Phase 3 payments can be found here – PDF. This data will be updated through January as Phase 3 payments are completed. It is important to note this state-by-state data is tied to the state in which a recipient’s IRS Tax Identification Number (TIN) is registered. It is possible recipients render health care services in states other than their listed TIN. After recipients attest to the terms and conditions for funding, they will be listed in the PRF public dataset.