CARES Relief Fund Payments - Best Practices

What Just Happened

The $30 billion being released by HHS is part of a $100 billion Public Health Service Emergency Fund for health care providers. The funds are being made available to Medicare-enrolled individual providers and facilities that billed Medicare fee-for-service last year. The new funds are in addition to a recent $51 billion expansion to the Accelerated and Advanced Payment Program. But unlike that program, the money now being distributed doesn't have to be repaid.

Now What? 

Unfortunately, the terms and conditions for these Relief Fund payments are vague and raise a series of questions that will necessitate additional guidance from HHS. 

HHS has established a CARES Provider Relief line at (866) 569-3522.

Pending additional guidance from HHS regarding the use of the Relief Fund payments and how they may be spent, there are a number of best practices providers can take related to tracking and allocating expenses. 

Segregate the Relief Fund payments into a separate account so expenditures from the account may be tracked.

If you are not currently providing diagnoses, testing, or care for individuals with possible or actual cases of COVID-19, consider not using the Relief Fund payments until additional guidance is given on what the terms mean.

If you are comfortable with the terms and conditions for the Relief Fund payments, develop a system to track expenses (general and specific) you can allocate to COVID-19.

• Specific costs should include any and all specific increases in cost or expenses that can be clearly traced back to the COVID-19 emergency. This could include, for example, additional personal protective equipment, specific staffing needs, implementation of telehealth capabilities, administrative costs (including outside vendors, e.g., consultants, lawyers, or accountants who are assisting you with your COVID-19 preparation) and physical plant changes.

Track your revenue losses as they relate to COVID-19 preparation and operations. Did you lose revenue because elective surgery/procedures were ordered to stop? Document and track as much as possible regarding how much you lost and why. 

If you have any questions, please contact the KB Healthcare Consultants team at 941-365-4617 or visit or website at https://www.kbgrp.com/resources/covid-19-updates to see the latest resources and updates for businesses and individuals regarding the coronavirus.