By Kim Stanger
Healthcare providers who received or receive payments from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund (“PRF”) may only use the payment for permissible purposes, must document and report the proper use, and return any excess funds to HHS. This alert summarizes the most recent guidance we have concerning these important issues.
Permissible Uses. The PRF includes both General Distributions (to all eligible providers) and Targeted Distributions (to specific provider segments, such as certain rural hospitals, hospitals in high impact areas, and skilled nursing facilities). Under the PRF Terms and Conditions applicable to each,1 Recipients of the PRF Payments must certify “that the Payment will only be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, and that the Payment shall reimburse the Recipient only for health care related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to coronavirus.” (See, e.g., https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/terms-and-conditions-provider-relief-20-b.pdf, emphasis added). Continue reading