Argentum Infection Prevention & Control Announcements

As of today, July 1, the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Reporting Portal is now open. Providers that received one or more payments exceeding $10,000, in the aggregate, during a Payment Received Period are required to report on the use of funds. PRF recipients must only use payments for eligible expenses, including services rendered, and lost revenues attributable to coronavirus before the deadline that corresponds to the relevant Payment Received Period. Providers who are required to report during Reporting Period 1 have until September 30, 2021 to enter the Portal and submit their information. All recipients of PRF payments must comply with the reporting requirements described in the Terms and Conditions.

(Alexandria, Va.) -- Seniors and their caregivers will be left behind in a $1.9 trillion rescue package that Congress is expected to pass this weekend. Last week, the only proposed funds to support long-term care providers in the American Rescue Plan were eliminated due to “jurisdictional issues,” prior to the House advancing it to the Senate. Now, as the Senate is poised to pass their version of the legislation, the anticipated final package fails to provide any dedicated relief to senior living communities that have been on the front lines, despite their pleas.

Now a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of assisted living facilities are still waiting for federal COVID-19 relief, and for over half of them, closures are imminent, according to a recent Argentum member survey. They have faced over $15 billion in increased expenses and lost revenue, and these figures are increasing substantially each month. Meanwhile, provisions in the current COVID-19 relief package negotiated in the House of Representatives fall woefully short in protecting these seniors and caregivers.

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) updated the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) with numerous additional questions and answers. The list of new questions added is below, and you can find the full list with answers here.

HHS has made a few noteworthy changes to Provider Relief Fund (PRF) reporting guidelines in accordance with the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021. It’s possible that the new administration will amend some of this guidance, but here is a summary of key updates in the interim:

Application of Payments
Former guidance states that PRF recipients may apply payments toward lost revenue, up to the amount of the difference between their 2019 and 2020 actual patient care revenue. However, the new guidance states:

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced that it is issuing new reporting requirements and that it will be amending the reporting timeline for the Provider Relief Fund Program due to the passage of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act in December.

Update: On December 28, President Trump signed this package into law. 

The House and Senate passed a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package, which we anticipate President Trump will sign as soon as it hits his desk. Overall, we are disappointed in the provisions that have been set forth in this latest stimulus package. The package largely fails to address the needs of seniors residing in long-term care settings across the country and lacks the promise of the financial resources needed to care for them. While we are still reviewing the text of the bill, which was over 5,000 pages long, we do know the package includes the following items of note:

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it has begun distributing Phase 3 payments from the Provider Relief Fund to over 70,000 providers across the country, totaling $24.5 billion overall. Relief funding specifically for assisted living communities is a part of this distribution.

At Argentum, we are calling on Congress to take swift action and pass bipartisan COVID-19 legislation to ensure the safety and wellbeing of senior living residents and staff. While we were pleased to see an additional $35 billion directed to the Provider Relief Fund in the framework of the Bipartisan Emergency COVID Relief Act of 2020, we need your help to ensure lawmakers understand the critical needs of senior living communities.

A framework of the Bipartisan Emergency COVID Relief Act of 2020 has been released and it includes another $35 billion directed toward the Provider Relief Fund (PRF). It also includes a directive to HHS to consider an appropriate distribution of funds for providers underrepresented in previous allocations, as well as those at risk of imminent closure. Among that $35 billion allocation is $2 billion for testing and tracing directed to nursing homes, HCBS, long-term care, and assisted living communities. 

“We are encouraged that the bipartisan agreement framework, for the first time, recognizes some of the essential needs of assisted living communities," said James Balda, Argentum president & CEO. "So many providers across the industry are still awaiting financial relief, and this additional funding will go a long way in supporting their ongoing operational needs to care for some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. But it is needed now: A recent survey of Argentum members showed almost 40% of respondents having 4 months or less of operating expenses and nearly half indicated they’ll have to close some communities if their financial situation does not improve.”