Healthcare Providers Required to Return Provider PHE Relief Funds
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has requested healthcare providers pay back $100 million collectively in COVID-19 PHE assistance for failing to comply with reporting requirements. Notices were sent to 10,000 non-compliant healthcare practices and providers on March 10, with a 30-day deadline in which to return the funds. Individual fund returns range from $30,000 to $250,000. According to the HHS, providers who do not return the funds will be excluded from future payments.
The HHS required reporting because the agency is being audited by watchdogs like the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to ensure the funds are being used properly.
Many of the penalized practices insist they did not realize there was a reporting requirement because: they were not contacted about the requirement; some administrative staff members were out of the office with COVID-19 during the initial reporting period; or staff challenges/changes resulted in the physician practices without their initial point of contact and thus information was lost. However, the HHS stated any facility or healthcare provider who accepted and kept the payment by default accepted the terms and conditions with or without actually signing the terms and conditions.
Several physician societies including the American Medical Association sent a letter to the HHS asking them to reopen the reporting period for 60 days.
