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- AMA, CAP Urge HHS to Extend COVID Physician Relief Reporting Period
The American Medical Association, the CAP, and more than 30 medical professional organizations asked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend its Provider Relief Fund (PRF) reporting period for 60 days. The CAP kept its members informed of the PRF resources and deadlines, but also understood that the HHS rules for reporting were challenging for physicians to meet.
In the March 31 letter, the groups asked the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to reopen the reporting period for at least 60 days for applicable PRF recipients who did not report through the HRSA PRF Reporting Portal by the November 30, 2021, deadline. The HRSA is trying to recover as much as $100 million in pandemic aid from thousands of health care providers that did not comply with the reporting rules.
In the letter, the group outlined how many physicians conveyed “their serious concerns about the Period 1 funding they received being recouped and have provided greater insight into the many reasons why reporting by the deadline did not occur.” The group also offered their assistance to work with the HRSA to communicate with health care professionals who have not reported.
The group also noted that the initial wave of COVID-19 relief funds authorized through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was deposited in some providers’ accounts without their knowledge or request, leaving them unaware of the reporting rules and deadlines. The government’s terms and conditions, which providers didn’t necessarily have to sign to get the money, required facilities that received more than $10,000 to report how they spent the funds by September 30, 2021.